DeSantis announces 2024 presidential bid.

Get ready America, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced his bid for the 2024 presidential race! In a video posted to Twitter on May 24, DeSantis declared, “I’m Ron DeSantis. And I’m running for president to lead our great American comeback.”

DeSantis, a Navy veteran, highlighted the issues facing America today, including a disastrous border, rampant crime, and a floundering federal government. But he also emphasized that success is attainable and freedom is worth fighting for.

DeSantis decisively won his gubernatorial reelection in Florida last year and is considered the most potent challenger to former President Donald Trump in the expanding GOP primary field. Other Republican contenders include former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, business mogul Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considering a run.

DeSantis’s Unique Announcement

DeSantis’s announcement format was novel and representative of his peculiar relationship with the media. He posted the video minutes ahead of his Twitter Spaces conversation with Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest men. The governor has largely walled off establishment outlets in favor of Fox News, while Musk has positioned Twitter as the alternative to the establishment news media.

DeSantis’s Rise to Prominence

DeSantis’s handling of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic boosted his national profile. While he took longer than most governors to shut the state down—not doing so until April 1—he reversed course in June. While the rest of the nation socially distanced, he reopened the state’s signature beaches. While the rest of the country masked up, he resisted mandates to do the same in Florida. Businesses started reopening in June. All 67 of the state’s public school districts were open for in-person learning by October 2020.

DeSantis’s real signature issue, though, has been his war against “wokeness”: left-leaning policies advanced through government bureaucracies and increasingly through corporations doing the government’s will and often seeking to control popular thoughts, attitudes, and speech.

Countless Floridians approve of DeSantis’s leadership, as evidenced by his high approval ratings and his reelection victory over former U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist by a nearly 10-point margin. With his bold conservative stance, character, and conviction, DeSantis is poised to inspire a nation and lead us forward.