Ron DeSantis’s claim that he broke the internet during his campaign launch “because so many people were excited about being on the Twitter space” has failed to catch on both at home and abroad. The spin flopped after an even larger Twitter Space with Trump world advisors and influencers achieved around double the listenership immediately after the Florida Governor’s botched launch on Wednesday night.
The campaign launch was led by Hillary Clinton donor David Sacks alongside Elon Musk on Twitter last night. The first 20 minutes were mostly dead air and saw the app crash and fail several times. Audiences were left in a state of total confusion, with many leaving when they heard nothing, and never coming back.
The vast majority of the coverage across the world has been negative, with words such as “incompetent,” “disastrous,” and meltdown being used to describe it.
A Sampling of the Headlines:
The Guardian (United Kingdom) – Failure to Launch: Twitter glitches deal double blow to Elon Musk and Ron DeSantis.”
Sky News (United Kingdom) – “Ron DeSantis claims campaign launch ‘broke the internet’ – but did it hint at an incompetent candidate from the off?”
Frankfurter Allgemeine (Germany) – “A found food for Trump” which is a German idiom. Translated, it refers to something that one can exploit or use to one’s advantage, especially with a sense of opportunism. A more contextually accurate translation might be, “A golden opportunity for Trump” or “easy pickings for Trump.”
9 News Australia – “‘Disaster’: Twitter meltdown derails presidential campaign launch.”
Franceinfo – “Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign launch turns into a fiasco and draws mockery from Donald Trump.”
Arab News – “Twitter meltdown mars DeSantis’ launch of 2024 GOP presidential bid to challenge White House.”
Al Jazeera – “DeSantis launches US presidential bid in glitch-filled broadcast.”
SOHU (China) – “DeSantis’ candidacy announcement tripped up by Twitter glitch: live stream disconnected multiple times, Trump mocks ‘disaster scene.”
Mainichi (Japan) – “DeSantis, Mask and ‘run-off delivery’: connection failure disrupts stakes.”
Reuters – “Ron DeSantis joins White House race, tripped up by chaotic Twitter launch.”
CBC (Canada) – DeSantis kicks off 2024 U.S. presidential campaign after Twitter event plagues by technical problems.”