Ron DeSantis’ hotly-anticipated 2024 campaign launch fell flat on Wednesday night when it was marred by technical glitches from the off. The Florida governor, 44, chose to announce his presidential run in an unconventional way – in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk and David Sacks. But, the event got off to a rocky start when it crashed several times and the sound repeatedly dropped out. While Musk claimed the servers were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people tuning in to listen, Mr DeSantis faced ridicule for the underwhelming launch from online commentators and both sides of the political aisle. His main Republican rival Donald Trump jumped at the chance to brand the launch a “disaster” while his son Don Jr coined the term “DeSaster” – a hashtag that soon began trending on Twitter. President Joe Biden also joined in the ridicule, posting a link to his donation page with the quip: “This link works.” Meanwhile, AOC joked that she had more viewers join when she famously played Among Us on Twitch. Mr DeSantis, who is seen as Mr Trump’s biggest rival for the Republican vote, sought to brush off the debacle in a Fox News interview. Read More Ron DeSantis 2024 launch with Elon Musk derailed by tech issues amid awkward jokes about ‘melting servers’ Trump and DeSantis' rivalry intensifies as Florida governor formally enters 2024 presidential race His 2024 launch was laughable but DeSantis could be more dangerous than Trump Billionaires, media bashing and woke ‘bubbles’: Key takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ campaign rollout

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Ron DeSantis has made clear what he believes the purpose of his 2024 candidacy to be: The utter destruction of the Democratic Party and its ideology. The Florida governor spoke on Fox & Friends on Monday and made the bold claim that not only would he win the general election should Republican voters nominate him in the primary, but added that he would “destroy leftism in this country” if allowed to serve in the White House. It was a claim that outlined exactly how far to the right the GOP continues to slide; while Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi have made headlines for asserting that they want a “strong” Republican Party that is reclaimed from Trumpism, Mr DeSantis and his fellow lawmakers on the right have embraced a desire for the total destruction of their political foes and the effective establishment of a one-party system. “I will be able to destroy leftism in this country and leave woke ideology on the dustbin of history. At the end of the day, I’ve shown in Florida an ability to win huge swaths of voters that Republicans typically can’t win — while also delivering the boldest agenda anywhere in the country,” said Mr DeSantis. “I pledge to Republican voters if you nominate me, I will be taking the oath of office on January 20, 2025, on the west side of the Capitol. No excuses, no more excuses about why we can’t get it done. We need to get it done, and I will get it done,” he continued. The Florida governor is currently polling in second place in surveys of the 2024 Republican field; he has consistently been the only Republican other than former President Donald Trump, the undisputed leader of the pack, to register double-digit percentages in polls of voters’ choice for the party’s nominee. His claim to have pursued the “boldest agenda” in the nation holds water thanks to the hard-right conservative agenda he has pursued in Florida. His administration banned so-called “critical race theory” — or any lessons that infer that racism is deeply embedded in American history or society — from classrooms, and has signed a host of other bills into law that have thrilled conservatives while drawing intense criticism from organisations like the NAACP and Human Rights Watch. The governor has also leaned heavily into a growing backlash on the right against any visibility of LGBT+ Americans in society, with Pride-themed items in stores and in media facing the most intense vitriol. In that vein, he has all but declared war on the Disney corporation, accusing it of pushing “woke” ideologies on children. That battle has now cost Florida millions in a cancelled business development in Orlando once planned by the company, which is also suing Mr DeSantis’s administration for his campaign against it. Read More Donald Trump Jr shares doctored Office clip showing Ron DeSantis wearing a woman’s suit Queer parents need everyone’s support, not people calling us ‘breeders’ LGBTQ people are fleeing Florida in ‘mass migration’ with some fundraising via GoFundMe Member of Ron DeSantis’ Disney governing board quits role Ted Cruz faces bipartisan fire for criticising Uganda’s new anti-LGBT+ law Trump loyalist floats ‘gross’ theory that Casey DeSantis is ‘exaggerating’ cancer story

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Anyone who lived through the noughties know the impact The Ketchup Song had, but people are just finding out what it's actually about. Taking to TikTok, Zara Larsson herself expressed her shock at realising the lyrics aren't all in Spanish, but instead, the chorus is a recreation of the 70s hit, Rapper's Delight. She explained how the storyline actually references a man who asks the DJ in a club to play his favourite song at midnight - but he can't think of the name, "The chrorus is from his pov and it sounds like gibberish because he is so drunk/high he cannot pronounce the words to the song correctly", one TikTok user pointed out. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter