- Gov. Ron DeSantis officially kicked off his 2024 campaign with a live Q&A on Twitter.
- He was asked about everything from the government's response to COVID-19 to his feud with Disney.
Gov. Ron DeSantis officially launched his 2024 presidential campaign in a livestreamed event on Twitter, discussing a wide range of topics from the government's response to COVID-19 to his ongoing feud, as Florida governor, with Disney.
But one topic notably left out of the audio-only forum, which was rife with technical difficulties at the start, was DeSantis's most formidable challenger for the GOP nomination: Donald Trump.
During nearly an hour-long Q&A session on Wednesday, David Sacks and Elon Musk brought in a few people who appeared to already align with DeSantis's camp, including conservative radio host Dana Loesch and Rep. Thomas Massie, to ask the candidate questions.
DeSantis was asked about his fight with Disney, the book ban controversies, and even his stance on digital currency.
But when it came to how he'll set himself apart from Trump, only the slightest-but-obvious reference was made to his rival when podcast host Steve Deace asked the governor about how he would handle immigration.
"We have heard a lot over the years: 'Lock her up.' 'Drain the Swamp.' 'Gonna build a beautiful wall.' 'Mexico's gonna pay for it.' And crowds cheered, and everybody loved it, and brands got built, and nothing got done," Deace said, referencing some of Trump's buzziest phrases and his Make America Great Again brand.
"What is the bottom line assurance that you can make to the people that are listening right now … that you can actually do the agenda that you just articulated when others tweeted about it and talked about it and then couldn't actually follow through," Deace asked.
In his response, DeSantis did not utter Trump's name but said he "shared that frustration."
"I think our voters are sick of the empty promises. They want to see action," DeSantis said.
Meanwhile, Trump and the MAGA camp were taunting the governor on social media as the Q&A was unfolding.
"'Rob,' My Red Button is bigger, better, stronger, and is working (TRUTH!), yours does not! (per my conversation with Kim Jung Un, of North Korea, soon to become my friend!)," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
During the live stream event's technical difficulties, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted: "#DeSaster."