Ron DeSantis could have just gone down a golden escalator instead of crashing and burning on Twitter Spaces

• You know what they say: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
• DeSantis could have taken tips from his one-time mentor and gone down a golden escalator somewhere.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida learned something the hard way on Wednesday night: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In an attempt to reinvent presidential campaign announcements, DeSantis and his team opted to join Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces for the occasion.

It's unclear why DeSantis' campaign opted to use Twitter Spaces as his platform of choice for what was, arguably, the most significant moment of his career yet. Maybe it was Musk's 2 a.m. livestream? — yep, the one where the Twitter owner tested a "new mic" and spammed listeners with fart noises while laughing hysterically.

Whatever the reasoning, the stream crashed multiple times over 20 minutes. And when Musk's team finally got the stream to work — at least for some Twitter users — DeSantis had to speed-read his announcement.

"We must restore sanity to our nation," DeSantis said after announcing his run, adding that "merit must trump identity politics" — the pun was not missed.

But say what you will about former President Donald Trump — at least he knew in 2015 that going down a golden escalator would be a more foolproof way of launching his campaign. Although, The Washington Post reported that the Trump campaign might have hired actors to cheer for him on his descent.

In November 2022, Trump opted for the safe "gilded Florida ballroom" option surrounded by faithful supporters. Boring — but at least he wasn't cut off a dozen times on a social-media livestream while announcing his presidential run.

And boy, did Trump smell blood in the water.

"DeSanctimonious raised much of his money during his run for Governor, which in theory cannot be used for his current 'escapade,' and before his poll numbers tanked - and wow(!) did they tank!" Trump posted on Truth Social as Musk and DeSantis continued to try desperately to make it happen on Twitter Spaces.

And minutes after DeSantis announced his run, Trump dropped not one — but two videos attacking his former protégé.

"The Washington-established politicians like to talk about how they can be just like Donald Trump," the voiceover on Trump's second video said. "Why would we ever settle for Trump imposters when there's only one — starting day one — who can make America great again?"

A Trump spokesperson said this to Insider about DeSantis: "Glitchy. Tech issues. Uncomfortable silences. A complete failure to launch. And that's just the candidate!"

And with that — welcome to the petty primary. Buckle up.