American Republican DeSantis wants to become president Nearly 1,800 ICRC employees lose their jobs

Prominent American Republican Ron DeSantis is running for president of the United States. The governor of the state of Florida handed over the necessary documents to the federal election commission on Wednesday. The Washington Post newspaper confirmed the request, citing a spokeswoman for the 44-year-old.

According to polls, the conservative hardliner is currently the most promising Republican candidate next to former President Donald Trump. Trump had already announced in November that he would be entering the presidential race for the 2024 election. The filing of the documents came hours before an expected announcement in a conversation with Twitter boss Elon Musk — of all things on the platform that Trump ever so overused.

DeSantis has been governor of the southern US state of Florida since early 2019. In November 2022, he was confirmed with a strong result. This strengthened his position and his pursuit of higher things. He has long been considered Trump’s biggest internal party competitor, having been something of a mentor to him years ago.

In the fight against the “Wokeness”

In Florida, DeSantis mainly attracted attention with his right-wing politics. Under him, laws were passed or introduced in the state that discriminate against minorities, curtail academic freedom at universities, or disrupt public education by banning education.

Above all, the Republican has declared war on so-called wakeness. The term ‘wake up’ means something like ‘to be awake’ and initially referred to racial discrimination. However, conservatives in the United States are now using it in a derogatory way, complaining that they feel that cracking down on various forms of discrimination is going too far.

A father of three, DeSantis has had a straight career. He attended the elite universities of Yale and Harvard, served in the Navy and served in Iraq. Prior to his election as governor, DeSantis served as a representative in the United States House of Representatives for several years.

Like Trump, the Republican belongs to the right wing of the party and shares similar hardline views. But he has no penchant for scandals, loss of control and chaos, but is considered disciplined, sorted, thoughtful. For those in the party and at the grassroots who are tired of Trump’s antics but want a candidate with Trumpian content, DeSantis is seen as a viable alternative.

Broad candidate field for the Republicans

The presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024. A broad field of participants is expected for the Republicans. In addition to Trump and DeSantis, former U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley has also made her ambitions official so far — but she’s way behind in the polls. Who ultimately wants to become the official candidate of the party must first win the internal party primaries.

US President Joe Biden is running for re-election by the Democrats. As an incumbent, he is unlikely to face serious intra-party competition during the election campaign. Biden has been in office since January 2021. At the time, he was the oldest president ever to take up residence in the White House. When the elections are in a year and a half, he will be 81 years old. At the end of a possible second term, he would be 86.

In recent months, there have been discussions within the Democratic Party about whether Biden would be a suitable candidate for another presidential race because of his age. Given Biden’s age, surveys also show that there are strong reservations among the population about a second term for the Democrat. As a potential opponent among the Republicans, the much younger DeSantis could potentially be dangerous for him. (sda/dpa)