DeSantis is expected to announce a presidential run on Twitter with Elon Musk

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to announce his run for president on Wednesday during a Twitter Spaces event alongside Twitter's Executive Chairman Elon Musk.

During a Wall Street Journal event on Tuesday, when asked if he was hosting a discussion with DeSantis, Musk confirmed the event.

"I will be interviewing Ron DeSantis and he has quite an announcement to make," Musk teased.

He went on to highlight the role Twitter will play on Wednesday.

"It will be the first time something like this is happening on social media and with real time questions and answers," Musk said. "Not scripted. So it's going to be live and let 'er rip. Let's see what happens."

The choice of Twitter as the platform to announce a presidential run is notable. The social media giant was once the favorite platform of former President Donald Trump, who spent two years banned from the site before having his account reinstated earlier this year. He has not tweeted since his reinstatement.

Trump often drove national conversation with a tweet and now uses the much less popular site, Truth Social, to elevate his messaging.

DeSantis' wife, Casey DeSantis, further teased the likely run on Twitter with a video showing DeSantis taking to a stage with an American flag backdrop.

DeSantis has flirted with a campaign for president for several months, taking trips to early voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. He also leaned heavily into the culture war in Florida's recent legislative session, passing abortion bans, book bans and drag bans, among other legislation focused on conservative priorities.

DeSantis has consistently ranked second in nationwide polls of Republican candidates. Trump remains the frontrunner, often ahead of DeSantis by 30 points.

Trump has targeted DeSantis in his own campaign messaging, using personal attacks and his signature disparaging nicknames.

DeSantis is not the only Republican candidate to announce a campaign this week, if that is his plan. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott also launched a bid for the White House in his home state on Monday.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.