Musk backs DeSantis—fellow enemy of the ‘woke agenda’—for president

The mercurial billionaire tweeted his help for the Florida governor on Friday night time, replying with “sure” when a Twitter person requested if he’d help a DeSantis run for the White Home.

“My desire for the 2024 presidency is somebody smart and centrist. I had hoped that will the case for the Biden administration, however have been disenchanted thus far,” wrote the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who now owns Twitter after his $44 billion takeover final month.

He added, “As a reminder, I used to be a major supporter of the Obama-Biden presidency and (reluctantly) voted for Biden over Trump.”

DeSantis has not introduced a White Home bid, however hypothesis has been rife. He simply defeated Democrat Charlie Crist within the midterms, securing his second time period as governor.

Like Musk, DeSantis has constantly spoken out towards the “woke agenda.” In his victory speech this month, he stated, “We battle the woke within the legislature. We battle the woke within the faculties. We battle the woke within the companies. We’ll by no means, ever give up to the woke mob. Florida is the place woke goes to die. I’ve solely begun to battle.”

Musk has made related assaults. He tweeted in April that “the woke thoughts virus is making Netflix unwatchable.” And this month, Musk reinstated the Twitter account of the satire website Babylon Bee, which had been locked over the misgendering of Rachel Levine, the U.S. assistant secretary of well being and a trans girl. (His ex-wife, Talulah Riley, had urged him to “do one thing to battle woke-ism” and was particularly involved concerning the suspension of the Babylon Bee account, asking, “Why has everybody turn into so puritanical?”)

Musk additionally introduced again the account of Donald Trump. In January final 12 months, days after the Capitol riot, Twitter completely banned Trump “as a result of threat of additional incitement of violence.”

Musk repeatedly criticized the corporate’s transfer, together with its content material moderation insurance policies generally. He promptly fired Twitter’s prime leaders upon taking on the corporate.

Trump, who introduced after the midterms that he’ll run once more in 2024, will little doubt bristle over Musk’s help for DeSantis. The ex-president supported DeSantis’ 2018 bid for governor, however the relationship between the GOP leaders has cooled as DeSantis has turn into ever extra fashionable amongst conservative voters. 

Trump on Nov. 10 accused DeSantis of missing “loyalty and sophistication,” and he rolled out the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious” at a rally in Pennsylvania. He additionally warned that if DeSantis ran, he’d reveal “issues about him that gained’t be very flattering—I do know extra about him than anyone—aside from, maybe, his spouse.”

Whether or not he’d reveal such issues on Twitter stays a query. Trump has indicated he’ll stick together with his personal social media website Reality Social (an app developed by Trump Media & Expertise Group) regardless of Musk reinstating his Twitter account. Musk has made raunchy jokes about Trump being tempted to tweet once more, whereas Trump responded to his reinstatement by saying that Twitter as an organization “won’t make it.”

Musk yesterday once more criticized the original decision to ban Trump’s Twitter account, writing, “The essential factor is that Twitter right a grave mistake in banning his account, regardless of no violation of the regulation or phrases of service. Deplatforming a sitting President undermined public belief in Twitter for half of America.”

However, he added, “I’m fantastic with Trump not tweeting.”  

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