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Queerty: Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis is turning to Elon Musk to announce his 2024 run & it’s going to be a mess

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Ron DeSantis standing behind a podium.

Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis is going to finally announce his candidacy for president Wednesday night on Twitter with Elon Musk. That’s right: a loathsome duo is going to kick off what promises to be a loathsome campaign.

What a perfect way to get things started!

DeSantis has been telegraphing his presidential ambitions for months, supporting a large swath of far-right legislation that targets LGBTQ+ people. In addition, he’s embarked on a gaffe-filled international tour and practiced his awkward brand of retail politics in early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

Ron Desantis in Japan, when asked about his falling poll numbers against Trump, says he isn’t a candidate yet, but suggests those numbers will change if he becomes one. He also uses another one of his contrived, weird personalities. pic.twitter.com/MP5skJos8S

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 24, 2023

DeSantis looks like he’s having a great time during his Hannity interview pic.twitter.com/4NDIT4hhXh

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 25, 2023

Once viewed as Donald Trump‘s most formidable challenger, DeSantis’ support among Republican voters has cratered thanks to a myriad of missteps. Most recently, his futile feud with Disney resulted the company abandoning a $1 billion developmental project in Orlando, which would’ve brought 2,000 jobs to the region…with $120,000 as the average annual salary.

The Florida governor, of course, is feuding with Disney, the biggest private employer and tourism attraction in his state, because the company criticized his draconian “Don’t Say Gay” law. DeSantis’ unwavering assault on the LGBTQ+ community started in earnest with “Don’t Say Gay,” which prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity through all grade levels.

Since then, he’s signed a law outlawing gender-affirming care for minors, and an anti-trans bathroom bill that allows adults to be criminally charged if they don’t use the bathroom that matches the sex they were assigned at birth. Florida also has a new anti-drag law that bars minors from attending drag shows with “lewd” performances. The vagueness of the bill is seemingly the point.

But once again, DeSantis’ atavism is resulting in embarrassing headlines. On Tuesday, the popular Orlando restaurant Hamburger Mary’s sued DeSantis, saying the law has negatively impacted their bottom line.

To kick off the week, the NAACP took the unusual step of warning Black people about visiting the Sunshine State. The leading civil rights group say its advisory is a “direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.”

Other items on DeSantis’ legislative agenda last session included school book bans and a six-week abortion ban. Those extreme measures have caused multiple donors to reconsider their support for the two-term governor.

“What the f*** is wrong with RD?,” asked an anonymous donor in a leaked text message.

And yet, DeSantis is going ahead with his presidential run. The announcement is expected to happen at 6:00 p.m. on Twitter Spaces, a “streaming tool with a history of bugs and failures,” according to the New York Times.

That sounds appropriate, too.

Oh, and did we mention Elon Musk will be there? Yuck!

Ron DeSantis will not win a single state in the Republican primary, including Florida.

Bookmark this tweet

— Alex Sheppard ?? (@NotAlexSheppard) May 24, 2023

Well good morning Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at sea.

Today is the day Ron DeSantis emerges from his cocoon, blossoms into a beautiful butterfly, flutters around the forests of Elon, and then is eaten by a giant buzzard named Donald Trump.

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 24, 2023

DeSantis’ manufactured campaign only appeals to a small share of terminally online, scorned freaks on twitter.

And even they, for the most part, are manufactured supporters. Nobody, other than maybe Casey (née Jill) DeSantis, is loyal to Rob because nobody believes this guy has… https://t.co/Miq7tHwVU8

— Paul Ingrassia (@PaulIngrassia) May 24, 2023

Using an audio-only broadcast to announce Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign is pretty dumb considering he has such a whiny little man-Karen voice

— Liam Nissan™ (@theliamnissan) May 24, 2023

Florida under DeSantis:

– Disintegrating property insurance market
– Skyrocketing housing costs
– Banned books
– Most toll roads in the nation
– Abortion bans
– Criminalization of immigrants
– Union busting
– Anti-LGBTQ laws
– Taxpayer funded corporate giveaways

No thanks.

— Thomas Kennedy (@tomaskenn) May 24, 2023

Once DeSantis announces, he’s expected to enter the crowded Republican field with a $200 million war chest, per the NYT.

But all of that money doesn’t change the fact that DeSantis, whose personality was once compared to a “piece of paper,” keeps getting hammered with a barrage of bad headlines. And after Wednesday night, the scrutiny is only going to get worse.

Scroll down for more reaction about DeSantis’ pending campaign announcement, which promises to be an absolute bleep-show…

DeSantis could have run as the level-headed guy who was electable and would actually get things done. Instead, the head of DeSantis’ super PAC says he’s going to win because he’s running to the right of Trump on LGBTQ issues and confronting supposedly woke companies like Disney. https://t.co/cPTHlfp4HX

— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) May 24, 2023

It’s going to be the most awkward convo

Straight from a scene from Succession

— XXXV #D4L (@KingGame) May 24, 2023

A Meatball and a guy that wants to die on Mars walk into a bar. Much hilarity ensues.

— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) May 23, 2023

Disturbing.

— MatthewJshow (@MatthewJshow) May 23, 2023

Could someone tell me exactly when and where this announcement will take place so I can be scrubbing closet floors. I don’t want to accidentally find it while scrolling.

— woodwardc☮ (@leafyduma) May 23, 2023

Barf.

— Barron Sherer (@BarronSherer) May 23, 2023

If displaying two extremely awkward people—trying desperately to appear like other humans—is the goal, this should hit the nail on the head. https://t.co/XQjXWYwSvO

— Eric Denton (@barrenclothpod) May 24, 2023

There is literally no way he could make this any more cringe https://t.co/uS1E0aVw4X

— Matthew Williams (@mattwil100) May 23, 2023

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