Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis and Twitter’s owner Elon Musk were recently criticized by Fox News following a messy launch on a Twitter Spaces event, where the Governor declared his 2024 Presidential candidacy.
What Happened: The well-anticipated Twitter Spaces event soon turned chaotic as Governor DeSantis announced his Presidential candidacy. The launch experienced technical issues, prompting Fox News to take swipes at both DeSantis and Musk, as reported The Hill.
Fox News’ homepage featured a banner headline labeling the event a “disaster on Twitter” and ridiculing the launch as “amateur hour.”
Furthermore, Fox News also seized the opportunity to promote its programs by displaying a bright red crawl graphic across its website, urging viewers to switch to Fox News at 8 p.m. to see and hear DeSantis. The message read, “PROGRAMMING NOTE: Want to actually see and hear Ron DeSantis? Tune into Fox News at 8 p.m.”
The Twitter Spaces’ event, touted as the first of its kind, struggled to provide a smooth and seamless experience for the audience. As the event commenced, audio and connectivity issues caused a delay of over 20 minutes.
Musk and moderator David Sacks could be heard discussing the overwhelming number of participants, with the influx of users potentially “crashing the servers.” At one point, the event had slightly over half a million listeners.
Why It Matters: Amid the commotion, former President Donald Trump took the opportunity to mock DeSantis’ campaign in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Just a few days before that, Trump criticized DeSantis’ campaign, calling it a “total disaster” even as a new poll showed that the former President was still favored to win the 2024 election.
In various polls of Republican voters, Trump has consistently held a lead over DeSantis, enjoying a substantial double-digit margin.
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