Forward To The 2024 US Presidential Election And Competing With Trump, Ron DeSantis: We Must End The Loss Culture Infecting Republicans

Ron DeSantis. (Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

JAKARTA - Florida Governor Ron Desantis on Wednesday announced his candidacy for the 2024 United States Presidential Election through the Republican Party.

"I am running for President of the United States to lead our great US return," DeSantis said on Twitter Spaces, after a 25-minute delay caused by repeated disruptions to the platform.

"We know our country is going in the wrong direction. We saw it with our eyes, and we felt it in our bones," he continued.

The inclusion of DeSantis in the Republican Party contest, led him to face former ally, former President Donald Trump, who lost the 2020 presidential election to Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

DeSantis, who was once the Republican's favorite after the 2022 part-time elections, has suffered after Donald Trump's attack which will also run in next year's election, now openly following the former president in a conservative poll.

"We have to end the losing culture that has infected Republicans in recent years," DeSantis said at a joint event with Twitter owner Elon Musk.

DeSantis framed himself as executive completing work against the federal government over COVID policies, providing an indelible conservative stamp in its home state.

He defended his efforts in Florida to ban the teaching of concepts such as gender identity and systemic racism, as protection for young children and against progressive ideologies.

With the increasing national profile and what is expected to be a deep source of finance, DeSantis will soon become Trump's biggest rival to Republican nominations.

"The government is not about entertainment, it's not about building brands," said DeSantis.

I’m running for president to lead our Great American Comeback. pic.twitter.com/YmkWkLaVDg

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) May 24, 2023

I'm running for president to lead our Great American Comeback. pic.twitter.com/YmkWkLaVDg

DeSantis' main argument for his candidacy is likely, he may be the only Republican candidate to beat President Joe Biden's incumbent.

"Our president, well, he lacks enthusiasm, fails in facing the challenges of our nation and he takes a signal from the masses that are awakened," DeSantis said of President Biden.

"I don't think it should be like this. America's setbacks are inevitable. That is an option. And we have to choose a new direction, a path that will lead to America's revitalization. We must restore our nation's territory," he exclaimed.

The competition for tickets for the 2024 US Presidential Election from the Republican Party is getting fiercer, with DeSantis having to tackle a significant vote gap. Other Republican candidates who have declared themselves ready to run as presidential candidates in addition to Trump and DeSantis include Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the United Nations, as well as Tim Scott, a US senator from South Carolina.

The majority of Republicans will pay close attention to DeSantis, to see if she can recover from her mistakes in foreign policy, such as her initial reluctance to express support for Ukraine in her war with Russia.