Several 2024 Republican presidential candidates reacted to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ highly anticipated entrance into the GOP primaries.
DeSantis made his widely expected presidential announcement Wednesday evening with a campaign video and a conversation on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk that was marred with technical difficulties. Some Republican primary contenders welcomed DeSantis into the race, while others mocked the announcement’s glitches and criticized the governor’s presidential bid.
Former President Donald Trump, who has been a devout DeSantis critic since he gained momentum as a possible 2024 contender, took to Truth Social ahead of and following the governor’s announcement.
“I’d like to personally congratulate ‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious on finally announcing that he will be entering the race for President of the United States. Hopefully he will get the full experience of being attacked by the Marxists, Communists, and Radical Left Lunatics of our Country, without which he will never know the kind of job he is doing. These Lowlifes & Misfits are far worse than the leaders of hostile foreign countries. They must be soundly defeated in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.
The former president also took a swipe at DeSantis’ announcement technical difficulties, and touted how his Truth Social posts are “working,” he wrote in the post.
“Welcome to the race,” conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy told the Daily Caller News Foundation in reference to DeSantis. “Competition breeds innovation.”
Conservative radio personality Larry Elder acknowledged DeSantis’ success in Florida, but argued he should be recognized for his run as a Republican during the 2021 recall race to remove Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office, he told the DCNF.
“Governor DeSantis is an extraordinary man with a record he can be proud of,” Elder told the DCNF. “But so do I. And I’m not getting enough respect.”
Elder led the replacement side of the ticket with 48.4% and roughly 3.5 million votes, carrying 57 out of California’s 58 counties. Though Elder said he raised over $27 million during his short eight-week run, 69.1% voted not to recall Newsom.
“Getting back to DeSantis, we are blessed with a deep bench,” Elder told the DCNF. “I am not running against DeSantis or Trump or any other Republican. I am running for president to end the hideous Biden-Harris administration. We need to win in November.”
The highly watched Twitter Spaces announcement held by Musk, which totaled roughly 700,000 listeners, experienced numerous technical difficulties Wednesday evening where the audio continued to fail, forcing the social media executive to end the discussion link. The second attempt was successful, and DeSantis took questions and slammed President Joe Biden’s “left-wing agenda.” (RELATED: Elon Musk’s Twitter Space For Ron DeSantis Fails, Glitches On First Try)
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson seemingly mocked DeSantis’ rocky start to his campaign launch in a tweet, which was forwarded to the DCNF upon request for comment.
“Just like my policies, this link works,” said Hutchinson. “Click here to support the consistent conservative candidate whose policies work every time.”
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley reacted to DeSantis’ presidential launch before he made the announcement with a campaign video and memo, where her team bashed the Florida governor for being an “echo” of former President Donald Trump and being “Trump without the charm.” Haley’s spokesperson pointed the DCNF toward these recent actions upon request for comment.
“DeSantis might not have Trump’s taste for incendiary tweets but make no mistake: his record shows that his ‘leadership style’ will only lead to more drama,” Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, wrote in the campaign memo.
DeSantis enters an increasingly growing GOP primary field with Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative radio show host Larry Elder, with former Vice President Mike Pence likely to enter the race soon.
The Real Clear Politics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between April 28 and May 22, indicates that DeSantis has 21.1% support
Scott and Pence declined to comment.
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