© APA/AFP/RICARDO ARDUENGO / RICARDO ARDUENGO
The 44-year-old is considered the most promising Republican candidate alongside ex-President Donald Trump.
US Republican Ron DeSantis wants to be President of the United States. The governor of the state of Florida submitted the necessary documents to the federal election commission on Wednesday. The Washington Post newspaper confirmed the application, citing a spokeswoman for the 44-year-old. Earlier it was said that DeSantis would present its plans in a conversation with Twitter boss Elon Musk starting at 6:00 p.m. local time (midnight CEST).
According to polls, the conservative hardliner DeSantis is currently the most promising Republican candidate alongside Donald Trump. Trump had already announced in November that he would enter the race for the presidential candidacy for the 2024 election. DeSantis has been governor of the southern US state of Florida since early 2019. In November 2022 he was confirmed in office with a strong result – which also strengthened his position in view of his striving for higher things. Before the father of three made a career as a politician, he attended the elite universities of Yale and Harvard, was in the Navy – and deployed in Iraq. Prior to his election to governor, DeSantis served several years as a representative in the House of Representatives.
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DeSantis’ wife Casey released a video Tuesday night that clearly alludes to the upcoming announcement. With the pathos of a Hollywood film, the politician appears to step behind a large stage with a US flag hanging behind him. To the cheers of an unseen audience, a voice adds: “They call it faith, because in the face of darkness one can see a brighter future. A belief that our best days are ahead.” In the video, DeSantis takes another deep breath and purposefully walks towards a curtain. When he opens it and apparently enters the stage, the video ends.
From mentor to opponent
DeSantis has long been considered Trump’s biggest internal party competitor, after years ago he was a kind of mentor to him. On Wednesday, the former president raged against the governor on the platform he co-founded, Truth Social, calling him “disloyal,” among other things.
Like Trump, the Republican belongs to the right wing of the party and shares similar hard-line positions. But he does not have the penchant for scandals, loss of control and chaos, but is considered disciplined, sorted, thoughtful – despite an ongoing feud with Florida’s powerful employer Disney, which was sparked by the allegedly too liberal corporate culture.
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In polls among Republicans about the possible candidates, DeSantis is currently well behind Trump. After the announcement on Wednesday, the governor wants to go on a tour of those US states that are important for the primary elections, according to the TV station NBC next week.
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