We're bringing our live coverage of Ron DeSantis's announcement of his presidential campaign to a close.

Coverage was written by Kayla Epstein, Sam Cabral, Chelsea Bailey, Chloe Kim, and Brandon Drenon, and edited by Marianna Brady.

Read more in our full story of tonight's event.

• Can Ron DeSantis really beat Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican race?
• Will these Trump voters back DeSantis this time?
• What Florida laws tell us about where Ron DeSantis stands on key issues

After a stumbling start marked by tech issues, Ron DeSantis has officially launched his presidential campaign with an hour-long discussion on Twitter.

• Initially sticking to a well-worn script, DeSantis lamented what he described as an American democracy under attack by rising crime, out-of-touch liberal "woke" ideologies, and out-of-control immigration at the southern border
• These issues, he argued, could be solved by his leadership. He pointed to his track record as Florida governor as a blueprint for his plan in the White House
• Among the achievements he championed were the speed with which Florida opened up during the Covid pandemic, legislation restricting sex education in classrooms, and curbs on undocumented immigrants

• Twitter boss Elon Musk used the event to herald free speech and received praise from DeSantis and others for challenging mainstream platforms
• DeSantis's team claimed over $1m (£810,000) was raised in under an hour tonight
• Former US President Donald Trump poked fun at DeSantis botched start on Twitter, making light of a man who many still consider to be his biggest Republican opponent

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

DeSantis' campaign event has drawn much ridicule and scepticism from his critics, for the extensive technical issues the Twitter Space experienced.

But it's too soon to say that a botched start will doom his campaign.

You only have to look back a few years to find an example of a much-derided campaign launch that turned out to have been successful.

We're talking of course about Donald Trump.

In the summer of 2015, Trump infamously rode a golden escalator in his namesake Manhattan skyscraper down to a waiting crowd. He gave a speech that became notorious for his claim that some Mexicans were "rapists."

It was widely criticised for its rhetoric - and mocked for, well, the Trump-ness of it all. But the next year, Trump barnstormed to the Republican nomination and won an upset victory for the White House.

Ron DeSantis broke with conventional ties tonight when he premiered his announcement that he was running for president live on a social media platform, instead of on TV or at a rally.

He paid the costs of being a trailblazer and encountered multiple technical glitches on Twitter Spaces, the result of which caused delays, confusion, and a laugh among his opponents, external.

Fox News, who analysts say felt snubbed by DeSantis's decision to make his debut on Twitter instead of Fox, took advantage of the mishaps in their headlines, calling it a "disaster".

"Twitter spaces crashes repeatedly during DeSantis 2024 announcement," a headline read.

However, at 20:00 local time (01:00 BST), DeSantis is scheduled to appear on Fox News.

Could he have the chance to redo his launch?

Image source, Fox News

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

The first-of-it's kind campaign launch has just ended.

Musk thanked DeSantis for coming to speak.

"It's really great for people to hear directly from presidential candidates," he said.

Twitter's owner acknowleged the event's rough start, but said he believed it had been a "genuine" conversation.

Musk invited other candidates to hold events of their own on Twitter Spaces, saying it was "important" people hear directly from them.

On his way out, DeSantis praised Twitter even as the site's technical difficulties botched his campaign launch.

"This is a great platform," he said.

DeSantis's official presidential announcement to the public on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk has ended.

The discussion, which included questions from listeners and host David Sacks, lasted over an hour after about 20 minutes of technical glitches kicked it off.

In the end, Musk didn't waste the opportunity to promote Twitter and said he hoped to see more conversations like this with other candidates on the platform in the future.

Jim voted for Trump twice, but with little enthusiasm last time.

He's not convinced by DeSantis yet.

Let's turn briefly to our voter panel, to hear what they think about Ron DeSantis and his chances.

Sheri was a Republican who voted for Trump twice before turning against him over his claims of election fraud in 2020. She is now a registered Independent.

Team DeSantis is trying to put a playful spin on the massive technical issues that have overshadowed his campaign's launch.

"It seems we broke the internet with so much excitement..." his campaign account tweeted.

Image source, Getty Images

President Biden and former President Trump didn't waste time to criticise DeSantis tonight during his announcement.

On Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, he made fun of DeSantis's clothes in his campaign launch video. "His collar is too big!", Trump wrote.

On Twitter, Biden joked about the technical glitches at the start of tonight's event and tweeted: "This link works," accompanied by a link to donate to the Biden-Harris ticket.

Several other politicians - both Republicans and Democrats - have made the same joke with links to their own fundraising pages.

Image source, Getty Images

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

Usually, presidential candidates launch campaigns with a speech outlining their vision for America. They propose policies and bold actions.

But so far, most of this conversation has been devoted less to DeSantis's vision for America, and more about hitting back at critics.

It's a conversation mostly focused on current grievances, rather than a hypothetical future under DeSantis.

Elon Musk and David Sacks have brought up various culture war debates that DeSantis has engaged with.

There's lots of red-meat rhetoric, but surprisingly little talk of policy or actual executive action he could take as president.

The farthest DeSantis has gone about expressing his vision for the executive branch is to criticise federal government agencies, saying they're "totally out of control" and pledging to reign them in.

As the Twitter Spaces event continues, Musk, Sacks and DeSantis are bonding over a shared disdain for mainstream media which they say fails to include a diversity of thought.

"The legacy media, these corporate journalists, they're in their little bubble," DeSantis says.

So far, they've talked more about the benefits of a Twitter town square than about DeSantis's vision for the presidency.

Image source, Getty Images

David Sacks is moderating the discussion, but Elon Musk is also weighing in, apparently from a seat right next to him at the Twitter HQ in San Francisco.

Musk says that the free speech protections afforded by the US Constitution's First Amendment have been eroded in recent times.

He argues the format DeSantis is using to announce his candidacy has the potential to generate discussions beyond the reach of mainstream media.

"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," he says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.

Image source, Getty Images

Around 200,000 people are listening in to this conversation, including several noteworthy names.

Donald Trump's former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, attorney Rudy Giuliani and legal adviser Jenna Ellis are among those who are listening in from Trumpworld.

Florida congressman Matt Gaetz and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner - both Trump backers - are also here.

Prominent cable news and social media personalities have also joined the feed.

The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.

He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.

DeSantis uses this as an opportunity to talk about how he approached the Covid-19 pandemic in his own way, saying he likes to go "against the grain."

Moments ago, Twitter Spaces encountered technical errors, causing confusion and delays for the thousands attempting to listen in.

DeSantis argues that, if he is elected president, there will be "no excuses, I will get the job done".

He says the past few years have given him an appreciation for the "fragility of our freedoms" and the need to stand up for those freedoms.

But, he notes, that things cannot get done "if you don't win".

He calls for rejecting the "tired dogmas" of the past, a veiled reference to former President Donald Trump, his chief rival, without mentioning him by name.

"There is no substitute for victory," he says.

The connection issues are apparently resolved and the microphone is turned over to DeSantis to make his pitch.

Florida's governor says he is running because "American decline is not inevitable. It is a choice."

He says President Joe Biden "lacks vigour", "takes his cues from the woke mob" and is responsible for the economic and social decline of the country.

He touts his record of conservative policy accomplishments since 2019 and says the Florida model can work on a national scale.

Elon Musk has reposted a new link to the Twitter Spaces event and the conversation has begun again - so far without fail.

"I think we're breaking the internet here," Sacks says.

This kind of format can help voters better understand presidential candidates outside of "canned speeches" and other prepared output, he adds.

Ron DeSantis is now speaking and giving his pitch.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Last month, Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched a massive rocket that exploded a few minutes after takeoff. His company spun that as a successful test.

Now, Ron DeSantis’s Twitter campaign launch hasn’t even made it off the pad. Even if they end up working out the kinks, it’s an embarrassing start to the Florida governor’s presidential campaign, and no after-the-fact explanations of massive interest and server traffic will help.

It’s also an embarrassment for Musk, who is trying to position Twitter as a platform for political debate and a friendly space for speech, particularly of the conservative variety.

Recently fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson passed on millions owed to him by the network to bring his massively popular conservative talk show to Twitter.

Given the halting start to DeSantis’s event, Fox executives may be laughing all the way to the bank.

And it’s only a matter of time before Donald Trump, DeSantis’s chief presidential rival, weighs in on this, as well. It is doubtful he will be restrained in his attacks.