A rocky start to the campaign of Ron DeAntis, Trump’s rival

In the eyes of the traditional right, he is meant to embody the alternative to Donald Trump. But Republican Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign has had a series of disappointments.

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A look back at the first month of his campaign.

Twitter fiasco

It was to be an innovative and dynamic launch. Going into the GOP primary campaign at the end of May, the Florida governor promised live on Twitter run by Elon Musk, for the first time.

A way for the 40-year-old to embody a breath of fresh air against his main challenger for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump, 77.

But this highly anticipated event turned out to be a fiasco, plagued by a series of technical problems.

“Your microphone is not on”, “It’s a pity, it doesn’t usually happen like that” … hundreds of thousands of users heard, instead of the program that the governor of Florida was trying to show.

Lack of charisma?

Governor Ron DeSantis has been triumphantly re-elected as Florida’s president in November 2022, and hopes to seduce all of America with his shocking stances on immigration, abortion, or gender issues.

But down to earth, this man of buxom physique and rare smile is often criticized for his lack of charisma.

“DeSantis tripped over the rug,” said Todd Belt, a political science professor at George Washington University. “He fails to connect with voters,” he explains to AFP, who find it hard to see what distinguishes him from Donald Trump, other than the most extreme ideas.

Bearish polls…

The result is final.

The governor, in whom conservatives pinned their hopes after their party’s disappointment in legislative elections last year, is now leading the former president by more than 30 points in the polls, according to RealClearPolitics aggregator.

“The more people know about him, the lower he polls,” Donald Trump quipped on his Truth Social this week.

Amid investigations, the former president has thrown himself into his third run for the White House, posing as a victim of a “witch hunt,” led by Democrats – a thesis many of his supporters adhere to.

France Press agency

His high-profile indictment in a New York court? Then from the Miami Federal Justice? The former New York entrepreneur boasts that he has made several million dollars thanks to these sequences, which have been the subject of dizzying media attention.

And Ron DeSantis’ stuttering in the polls also benefits dozens of Republican candidates who have been fired into the pursuit, like former Vice President Mike Pence. However, their chances of winning the nomination seem limited.

…but chances of recovery

Don’t bury Ron DeSantis too quickly and warn his allies.

The battle for the Republican nomination has just begun, and opportunities to re-fire the former Navy officer will be numerous before the first primary, which is scheduled for mid-January.

Starting with the first debate between the two Republican contenders, which is scheduled for August 23. An opportunity for Ron DeSantis, who had never attacked Donald Trump before, to finally step into the ring.