Regardless of who you support in the 2024 presidential election, the lead-up and the teasers to Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R-FL) White House bid are unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
Musical artists around the globe have become famous for their “album rollouts.” While some just put out a couple of singles and introduce a track list a week before the album hits the shelves and the streaming platforms, others have made it a huge event that takes place over an extended period.
For instance, last year Tyler, The Creator introduced his album Call Me if You Get Lost in a very unique way. This album rollout included a phone number you could actually call to listen to snippets of the album.
Similarly, Gov. DeSantis has been coy with media personnel and has hinted at a run for months now. This includes releasing a book, making trips to Iowa, and refusing to answer directly whether he would run for president.
At one point, a reporter asked Gov. DeSantis if he was running just a few weeks ago, and his response was “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
While being interviewed by Piers Morgan, DeSantis threw some light jabs at former President Donald Trump (R). At times it felt as though he might announce his campaign right there during that interview, but it didn’t come to fruition.
However, that’s by-the-book stuff.
The real reason this presidential campaign's “rollout” is different is this: social media (at least early on) is the heart of the campaign, not the arms or the legs. As social media (Twitter in particular) takes its place as the center of the operation, it is the mainstream news outlets that are becoming the second-hand source regarding the news surrounding DeSantis’ plans.
Teasers such as these:
05.24.2023 pic.twitter.com/CKdITktyev
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) May 23, 2023
And videos such as these prove the point.
America is worth the fight... Every. Single. Time. pic.twitter.com/lWNQ3DIXgp
— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) May 23, 2023
“America is worth the fight…Every. Single. Time,” said Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis.
If the reports of the DeSantis announcement being held in an interview style with Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces are true, then it is likely that the mainstream media outlets will be broadcasting the interview (from Twitter) on their programming, live for the whole world to see.
It will not be first put on Fox News or CNN, already cut up and edited, and then make its way to social media platforms, but the exact opposite.
DeSantis will not be coming down any escalators. He will not be campaigning from his basement, either. But instead, it will be a mixture of the two. Social media is no longer the future of national campaigning. Social media is now the present.
