FLORIDA — As anticipation grows over Ron DeSantis’ announcement tonight, The Florida Standard breaks down the possible reasons why DeSantis chose the social media platform to make his announcement.
Plus, we compiled a quick guide on how to tune in to the conversation between Florida’s governor and Elon Musk – even if you don’t use Twitter.
WHY TWITTER?
Elon Musk is a polarizing figure. He’s been outspoken and controversial since he bought the social media company for $44 billion last October. But Musk has been a fan of DeSantis for some time, stating in June that he was leaning toward supporting Florida’s governor in a likely presidential bid.
Republican strategists have said that Twitter is not real life and some wonder why DeSantis isn’t making his announcement where more people will see him. But the social media strategy may actually propel his message further.
When Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox News last month, he released a video on Twitter that now has more than 132 million views. The show on Fox averaged 3.25 million viewers per episode during the first three months of 2023.
Twitter Spaces, the public radio-style broadcast DeSantis will use tonight to make his announcement, can be listened to by anyone on the Internet – whether they have a Twitter account or not. The broadcasts are audio only, so we won’t see Musk or DeSantis during the interview.
But the broadcast will be available globally – and maybe that’s the point. Armed forces and U.S. officials around the world can tune in, and so can people in foreign countries that may be concerned with America’s decline over the past few years. The world is now watching to see who will rise to the top and steer the nation onto a better course.
HOW TO TUNE IN:
Twitter lets anyone listen to conversations on Spaces regardless of whether or not they are logged into Twitter or even have an account. You simply need the link to the host profile.
Navigate to the home timeline of @ElonMusk or @RonDeSantis on desktop or mobile using your web browser:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk
https://twitter.com/rondesantis
A purple link will appear at the top of the timeline when the conversation goes live between Ron DeSantis and Elon Musk.