Never work with animals, children or egotistical space billionaires. That's a lesson Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida learned the hard way when he used Elon Musk's Twitter Spaces social media platform to announce his run for US president.
Thousands of listeners were greeted with long silences, odd snatches of music and the sound of Musk, wouldbe kingmaker of the American right, muttering that "the servers are straining somewhat". The glitch was soon being described as a "DeSaster", one of the most embarrassing campaign fiascos in memory.
No one was more gleeful than Donald Trump, who regards DeSantis as his principal rival for the Republican nomination in 2024. But for those in the party who crave an alternative to the disgraced former president, it fuelled disquiet about his putative rival's big match temperament - and encouraged them to seek other options. No one is writing DeSantis off, but he enters the race weakened and in a wide field of lesser candidates that Trump now dominates.
"DeSantis's launch was awful; Trump's comments are nuts," tweeted Bill Kristol, a founding director of Defending Democracy Together who served in the Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush administrations.
"Doesn't every normal Republican elected official and donor think the party can (and should!) do better?" The Grand Old Party has been transformed since the moment that Trump staged a comparatively lo-tech campaign launch by trundling down an escalator at Trump Tower in New York in 2015. The celebrity businessman soon energised grassroots supporters, shook the Republican establishment and prevailed in the primary election against divided opposition.
Denne historien er fra June 02, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra June 02, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Saudi football World Cup is an act of violence and disdain
Well, that's that then. In the event there were only two notes of jeopardy around Fifa's extraordinary virtual congress last week to announce the winning mono-bids, the vote without a vote, for the right to host the 2030 and 2034 football World Cups.
AI has made the move into video and it's worryingly plausible
I recently had the opportunity to see a demo of Sora, OpenAI's video generation tool, which was released in the US last Monday, and it was so impressive it made me worried for the future.
With tyrant Assad ousted, Syrians deserve support and hope
Last week, time collapsed. Bashar al-Assad's fall recalled scenes across the region from the start of the Arab spring almost 14 years ago. Suddenly history felt vivid, its memories sharpened. In fact it no longer felt like history.
TV
The Guardian Weekly team reveals our small-screen picks of the year, from the underground vaults of post-apocalyptic Fallout to the mile-high escapism of Rivals
Albums
Murky love stories, nostalgic pop and an in-your-face masterpiece captured our critics' ears in 2024
Film
Visual language, sound, light and rhythm are to the fore in the best movies of the year
Hidden delights Our 24 travel finds of 2024
Guardian travel writers share their discoveries of the year, from Læsø to Lazio
'It's really a disaster' The fight to save lives as gang war consumes capital
Dr James Gana stepped out on to the balcony of his hospital overlooking a city under siege. \"There's a sensation of 'What's next?'. Desperation is definitely present,\" the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medic said, as he stared down at one of scores of camps for displaced Haitians in their country's violence-plagued capital.
Trailblazers The inspiring people we met around the world this year
From an exuberant mountaineer to a woman defiantly facing the guns of war, here are some of the brave individuals who gave us hope in a tumultuous 2024
Votes of confidence
From India to Venezuela and Senegal to the US, more people voted this year than ever before, with over 80 elections across the world. With rising authoritarianism and citizen-led resistance revealing its vulnerabilities and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges, has democracy reached its breaking or turning point?
