In a move reflecting the increasingly digital era of politics, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis selected Twitter Spaces as his platform to declare his 2024 presidential bid.
However, the live Wednesday event was riddled with technical difficulties, creating a less-than-ideal environment for the new presidential candidate’s announcement.
The audio stream, meant to carry DeSantis’ message to his followers, suffered multiple crashes, rendering real-time listening virtually impossible for most users.
Reports flooded in from Twitter users who experienced app crashes as they tuned in to listen to DeSantis and Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, jointly host the event.
Adding to the technical turmoil, DeSantis’ account seemed intermittently invisible during the audio-only event on Twitter Spaces, causing further confusion and frustration among the potential audience.
According to Twitter’s published metrics, more than 600,000 users attempted to participate in the event.
While DeSantis battled with technology, political rivals took the opportunity to add to the fray.
President Joe Biden responded by posting a link to his own fundraising page on his Twitter account, cheekily noting, “This link works.”
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump capitalized on the incident to take a jab at DeSantis.
In a spoof video posted by Trump, Musk, and DeSantis are accompanied by prominent figures from around the world, including billionaire George Soros and World Economic Forum head Klaus Schwab.
The clip includes humorous appearances by characters such as the Devil, Adolf Hitler, the FBI, and former Vice President Dick Cheney, each adding their own comedic touch to the scene.
U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) made it clear where his allegiance lies as he donned a red “Make America Great Again” hat on his way to the Capitol the morning after DeSantis’ announcement.
You can listen to the full audio of Musk’s Twitter Spaces event below: