DeSantis’ Doctrine

Elon Musk Steals the Show at Ron DeSantis’ Presidential Campaign Launch

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R.) announced his presidential candidacy during a Twitter Spaces event Wednesday, but it was Elon Musk’s show. The Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX CEO received co-billing. Moderator David Sacks, an investor and former executive at PayPal, said the technical snafu that botched the conversation was a consequence of Musk’s enormous Twitter audience. DeSantis thanked Musk for buying Twitter and turning it into a platform for free speech. Each of the guests lauded Musk’s ingenuity and courage before asking DeSantis a question. One especially obsequious Republican congressman bragged that he owned a Tesla.

During the Twitter Spaces event, Elon Musk stole the show from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who announced his presidential candidacy. The technical difficulties that occurred were attributed to Musk’s massive Twitter following. DeSantis thanked Musk for his contribution to free speech and the guests praised Musk’s innovation and bravery. One congressman even boasted about owning a Tesla.

Musk as the Candidate?

Musk might as well have been the candidate—and there is reason to think that, but for the Constitution, he would be.

It was suggested that Elon Musk could have been the candidate if not for the Constitution. This highlights Musk’s influence and popularity.

The Clash of the New Right

The clash between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis is not just about who will lead the GOP, but also a struggle between two concepts of the New Right. Trump’s MAGA populism is pitted against DeSantis’ institutional culture war.

The Populist’s Main Strength is Rhetorical

Trump’s strength lies in his rhetoric, which is simple and easy to understand. DeSantis, on the other hand, is more esoteric and his conversation with Musk was not easy to follow. They discussed how government, tech platforms, and corporate media work together to suppress freedom and entrench progressivism. This highlights DeSantis’ culture war against progressives.

The Post-2020 Right

The events of 2020 have radicalized a portion of the New Right and sped up its rejection of politics-as-usual and its embrace of state power. This is a Right that distrusts every word it hears from the left and believes official narratives are false. For this post-2020 Right, free speech is a way to rally against institutional arrangements dedicated to American decline.

• DeSantis wants to use the institution he controls—government—to rescue or defang other institutions consumed by wokeness.
• He came across less as a populist than a shrewd technocrat.
• The key media figures in this post-2020 Right are not Rupert Murdoch and Rush Limbaugh, but Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson.

DeSantis is betting that his institution-based culture war will prove more attractive to GOP voters than MAGA populism. It’s a gamble that 2020 changed the Right as much as the Left—and that Donald Trump belongs to a receding past.

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