In an extraordinary turn of events, Fox News on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, launched a one-two punch, ridiculing Elon Musk’s widely criticized online event with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis while simultaneously promoting its own upcoming interview with the governor. The conservative network’s approach of mocking Musk while luring viewers to its own programming stands as an intriguing example of modern political and media maneuvering.
The event, designed to kickstart DeSantis’ campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was hosted on Twitter’s audio-only live-streaming platform, Spaces. The event was expected to involve a conversation between Musk and DeSantis, with DeSantis’ patron David Sacks moderating. However, it was beleaguered with a myriad of technical difficulties, creating an atmosphere that critics compared to observing the elderly struggle with new technology.
Fox News’ homepage was merciless in its criticism, labeling the event as “amateur hour,” and a “disaster.” The network went a step further, jabbing Musk and DeSantis with a red-bannered promotional message for its own upcoming interview: “PROGRAMMING ALERT: Want to actually see and hear Ron DeSantis? Tune into Fox News at 8 p.m. Easter.”
Musk attempted to dismiss the chaos, blaming the sizeable audience of approximately 650,000 listeners. This claim was met with skepticism, as Sony had earlier in the day held an online PlayStation event featuring video that comfortably accommodated more than 2 million online visitors. To add insult to injury, Twitter Spaces went completely offline before DeSantis had an opportunity to address the audience.
The New York Times succinctly summed up the debacle, stating that the event primarily demonstrated the persistent issues that have plagued Twitter since Musk’s acquisition of the social media giant last year.
Fox News was far from alone in highlighting the fiasco. President Joe Biden swiftly responded to DeSantis’ announcement with a 15-second montage on Twitter, featuring the Florida governor and the question “can you launch a presidential campaign?” alongside video of the blundered announcement.
Meanwhile, DeSantis’ major contender in the primary, former president Donald Trump, was not one to miss an opportunity for political jousting. He posted a video of a rocket bearing the label “Ron! 2024” failing to launch, tipping over, and exploding – a two-pronged dig at both DeSantis’ campaign and Musk’s SpaceX enterprise.
As the dust settles on this bizarre turn of events, it is clear that the criticism surrounding the event has overshadowed its intended purpose. However, the power struggle within the Republican party, the sniping between networks, and the ongoing technical difficulties at Twitter have kept political observers and media pundits captivated. The event itself may have been a disaster, but it has inadvertently provided an enlightening glimpse into the current state of political communication, the role of social media, and the high-stakes game of presidential campaigning.
©traders-news.online
