What is behind the significant announcement by DeSantis and the collaboration of Elon Musk?

Everyone, or almost everyone, expects the famous billionaire of South African origin Elon Musk, owner of Twitter and founder of Tesla, to chat live with Ron DeSantis on Twitter this Wednesday. It seems the highlight of the talk, and they have almost announced or played at revealing it, is to make the governor of Florida's candidacy for the White House official from that platform.

The AFP news agency first gave the information. Shortly after, Musk told the Wall Street Journal: "I'm going to interview Ron DeSantis, and he has a big announcement to make." This has been quoted countless times. And although certain doubts are still being read on social networks, the truth is that the media are not expecting another announcement. And neither is the general public. In his AFP note, he noted that DeSantis "is shaping up to be Donald Trump's biggest rival for the Republican inauguration" and that "the two men know each other well." He is a headline who can sell billions of tickets to a boxing match globally rather than nationally. So goes the world. So goes America.

DeSantis' career has continued ascending since 2018. He entered the campaign that year as a genuinely little-known congressman. Since 2015, he has supported Trump's actions in his battles against the dire policies of the common enemy, the Democratic Party, in the hands of the radical left. In 2018, Trump supported, with all the weight of his successful term, the candidacy of the young veteran for the governorship of the southern state, where he won a narrow victory.

But DeSantis' praised work in Tallahassee allowed him to expand his following rapidly. In November 2022, he was re-elected with a "landslide victory," getting Florida to express the only "red tide" (avalanche of votes in favor of the Republican Party) that Trump had envisioned in many other states and was only a fact here. In the last elections, DeSantis was the great Republican winner.

The media, of different tendencies, have not stopped throwing fuel on the fire. Trump has contributed to the media bonfire, as is his style and is well-known to him. DeSantis has been restrained, as is his style. According to AFP: "DeSantis has been distancing himself from the billionaire and occupying his own space on the American right, with very conservative policies on issues such as education, abortion or immigration. The uproar caused by some of his measures has given him enormous media attention beyond Florida's borders, in the country's southeast. But the battle for the Republican inauguration will reveal if his new status in the party is enough to prevail over Trump."

These AFP "arguments" are part of various media's repeated, and even contaminated, discourse, which does not precisely describe reality. DeSantis's policies are not "very conservative" but instead new conservative policies, what I define as a new conservative, which seeks to rescue and defend the most valuable achievements of Western civilization in the face of the real threat of globalism that legislates to depersonalize and dehumanize to the new generations, and even before the danger of anarchy as a reaction to the dislocated subversion of values and pillar institutions. In this "cultural battle," which was well understood by the great President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, they are aligned with two different styles, Trump and DeSantis. In these defenses, vital to stopping the rampage of the left, Trump and DeSantis are the most robust wall of the enemies of freedom.

Trump, who, without a doubt, promoted and united the MAGA movement (Make America Great Again) throughout the country, is today the most popular figure of Republicans at the national level. DeSantis follows. Most polls suggest that the 76-year-old real estate magnate would defeat the 44-year-old governor, "born into a working-class family, a war veteran, and a graduate of Harvard and Yale," backed by the millions who, more than beyond the polls and predictions, they have given their confidence in the Florida elections.

While quite a few young voters believe that the talk and the announcement on Twitter is an exciting move by DeSantis, one of Trump's advisers, in a conversation with AFP, has ironized the governor's capacity for dialogue and charisma in a tone who recalls the sarcasm of former president 45: "Announcing his candidacy on Twitter is perfect for DeSantis. That way, he doesn't have to interact with anyone." Although not at the massive level of Trump, DeSantis, without announcing his candidacy, has been traveling to other states, drawing crowds to his rallies that lacked posters supporting his run for the White House. He has long ago, in his way, he has also added fuel to the fire.

For its part, AFP warns of the immediate future that, up to now, is envisioned by almost all the media and sides: "The governor of Florida expects a fierce fight against the New York billionaire, a man immune to scandals, whose legal troubles seem to mobilize more to his numerous followers still." But will this reaction hold with DeSantis' entry into the Republican equation? What will be the response of the independents? In all this media and variety show, the weight of those not affiliated with the two big parties is being left aside. Let's not forget that the independents, and above all, the undecided, are the ones who, ironically, usually decide who wins the presidency; that is, they determine the country's destiny. What does that silent and undecided majority think of the two strongest Republican candidates? Which one do you want to vote for?

There are many unknowns and variables above and below the table. Will the old wolf Trump go to the final round again against the almost senile Biden, who refuses to relinquish the reins of power despite his repeated and embarrassing failures? Or will the doors open for the young DeSantis, who has grown little by little? Will he lose to Trump? Will DeSantis be the Republican who, Reagan-style, amid another crisis and another cold war of the radical left, manages to make the red wave a reality at the national level, balance the powers, and unite the disunited American Union for the same purpose, despite the natural differences of thought, despite the sustained damage of populism, demagogy, caudillismo, resentment, the manipulation of immigrants, the deception of the Critical Race Theory that seeks to encourage racism in all ways, the anti-scientific imposition of gender ideology, the war against faith, family and the healthiest foundational values?

Going over the biggest problem of the Americans, which is none other than the terrible management of the Biden-Harris Democratic administration, the media take advantage of the possible electoral tournament between the two Republicans with the grandest intention to vote and those who could relocate, at least for four years, to that party in the oval office. Could they take a turn of the screw and unite in a fantastic pairing of Trump president and DeSantis vice president, as many want? What's behind DeSantis' big announcement and Elon Musk's complicity? Where will all this stop? Not a few wonder.

AFP has said that Trump, who announced his new candidacy last November, "bragging about having raised millions of dollars in donations since a New York court indicted him in April for a case of accounting falsification. For his part, DeSantis will also be able to count on generous donations —$110 million to date— with which he hopes to close the gap and flood the country with campaign ads."

The news agency has highlighted that "in a recent video from the governor's political action committee, a man puts a "DeSantis president" sticker on the body of a car, above one with the slogan "Trump 2016." The announcement sums up the message the governor wants to convey to voters: against the 76-year-old mogul, DeSantis wants to embody the new guard of the Republican Party." It certainly is. It is a fact. But what will the voters, the classic Republicans, the MAGA Republicans, the independents and the undecided, even the Democrats disgruntled or disappointed with Biden and others who are increasingly burying their party, say?

The other "declared candidates in the Republican race - Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson - rarely exceed 5% of voting intentions in the polls," according to AFP, "so everything points to a battle between the governor of Florida and the man who started it. The news agency insists that "the hostilities between them began before DeSantis entered the ring. Trump has spent weeks multiplying criticism and mockery of his rival on his social networks and at rallies. At the same time, DeSantis has counterattacked in his way, more subtle, remembering what hurts the former president the most: his defeat in the last presidential elections against Democrat Joe Biden".

In any case, one of the two candidates, ultimately chosen by the Republicans, will face off in a year and a half, in November 2024, against the candidate selected by the Democrats. "Successful writer Marianne Williamson and a nephew of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Robert Kennedy Junior, are currently the only party candidates against Biden. Their chances of winning the inauguration are slim," AFP reported.

In the streets, the comments, not only from voters and supporters of the Republican Party, have not come long. Not a few ratify his thoughts. Vicente, a veteran of the 2506 Brigade, tells me: "This is a mistake. The happy ones are the Democrats. It is excellent to have DeSantis in Florida. He should serve as vice president and wait for Trump's 4 to climb to the presidency. Trump is Trump." Yotsan, a Florida real estate agent, tells me: "Anyone of the Republicans would be better than the radicals of the Democratic Party. But Trump is going to get the election stolen again. All the intelligence, DOJ, Attorney General, MSM, and agencies are against him. Suppose he was robbed when he was president and had many of these agencies under his command. Imagine now. I think DeSantis is not going to be robbed so brazenly. What do you think?"

Víctor, who arrived from Colombia 7 years ago and worked as a truck driver, tells me: "Trump should support DeSantis, at almost 80 years old, after having fought so hard in his term and being out of power for four years, the smart thing to do for the country that he could do is support and advise DeSantis, who is the one who will best be able to maintain his legacy. But maybe that's not what Trump wants." And for her part, Elsa, a civil engineer, wonders: "Why haven't Trump and DeSantis agreed? How do their analyses differ from the current context of voters in the country? What will be the main reasons why you disagree?" The undeniable thing is that there are more questions than answers.

What will come of the live Twitter conversation between Musk and DeSantis tomorrow? There are so many questions. So many worries. So much at stake. So seriously. What cards will the Democratic Party play? What will happen, starting this Wednesday, within the ranks of the Republican Party? Will this internal "showdown" help them win back the White House? Or is it a mistake that suits the Democratic Party, which increasingly needs to keep Americans distracted with all kinds of scandals, fallacies, and smokescreens to alleviate the magnitude of the socioeconomic and political disaster that since 2020 has sharpened? Or will it be, unexpectedly, the opposite?

(Translated from Spanish)