Did DeSantis' Twitter Campaign Reveal Fail Bigly? One Graph Shows Why the Gamble May Have Been a Mistake

"For DeSantis, whose campaign desperately needed a shot in the arm, the failed gimmick instead became an opportunity for opponents to take shots of their own:nnThose are two of DeSantis' rivals for the GOP nomination; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson took the more modest route, whereas Trump took the more ... well, Trumpian route."

This is a negative sentiment.

"For DeSantis, whose campaign desperately needed a shot in the arm, the failed gimmick instead became an opportunity for opponents to take shots of their own:nnThose are two of DeSantis' rivals for the GOP nomination; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson took the more modest route, whereas Trump took the more ... well, Trumpian route."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Yes, he may be a lockdown-fighting, wokeness-smiting hero in Tallahassee -- but Wednesday's gimmicky, glitchy, anemic campaign rollout indicated that, as a potential Donald-slayer, the man Trump calls "DeSanctimonious" isn't necessarily ready for prime time."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Trump regained his footing, helped in no small part by an absurd indictment by Soros-funded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over non-disclosure payments made to Stormy Daniels and several other women."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Polls showed DeSantis closing in on Trump, if not outright leading in some cases."

This is a negative sentiment.

"nnNot only had DeSantis crushed it in the 2022 midterms -- winning a second term in the governor's mansion by nearly 20 points after only narrowly beating Andrew Gillum in 2018 and turning deep blue areas of the Sunshine State Republican red -- his chief opponent, former President Donald Trump, decidedly did not."

This is a negative sentiment.

"The rallies were back, as was the pugnacious side of The Donald."

This is a positive sentiment.

"Anti-Trump Republicans were quick to blame the former president for losing the Senate -- and they may not have been wrong, considering the underwhelming performance of Trump-endorsed candidates like Blake Masters in Arizona, Herschel Walker in Georgia and Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Considering that the GOP primary will probably come down to a two-person race -- The Donald vs. whoever isn't The Donald -- it's safe to say the Florida governor had good reason to hope that he could count on Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson and Tim Scott supporters to vote for him if and when their chosen candidates abandon their single-digit campaigns."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Considering that the GOP primary will probably come down to a two-person race -- The Donald vs. whoever isn't The Donald -- it's safe to say the Florida governor had good reason to hope that he could count on Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson and Tim Scott supporters to vote for him if and when their chosen candidates abandon their single-digit campaigns."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Considering that the GOP primary will probably come down to a two-person race -- The Donald vs. whoever isn't The Donald -- it's safe to say the Florida governor had good reason to hope that he could count on Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson and Tim Scott supporters to vote for him if and when their chosen candidates abandon their single-digit campaigns."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Considering that the GOP primary will probably come down to a two-person race -- The Donald vs. whoever isn't The Donald -- it's safe to say the Florida governor had good reason to hope that he could count on Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson and Tim Scott supporters to vote for him if and when their chosen candidates abandon their single-digit campaigns."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Considering that the GOP primary will probably come down to a two-person race -- The Donald vs. whoever isn't The Donald -- it's safe to say the Florida governor had good reason to hope that he could count on Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson and Tim Scott supporters to vote for him if and when their chosen candidates abandon their single-digit campaigns."

This is a negative sentiment.

"You've heard this from DeSantis before he was a candidate, and you probably liked it: He plans to run to the right of Trump."

This is a positive sentiment.

"In several key races, Trump's candidates faltered."

This is a negative sentiment.

"It's too early to see if Sen. Scott's relatively conventional announcement speech registers in the polls, but it was clear from the hype leading up to Wednesday's Twitter event that DeSantis was desperately trying to breathe life into a campaign that seemed to be dying before it even began."

This is a negative sentiment.

"And it wasn't just Republicans getting in on it, either:When the people ruing President Biden's official Twitter account feel confident enough to get away with poking fun at your gaffes, things have not gone exactly as plaed."

This is a negative sentiment.

"In addition to Musk, DeSantis and moderator David Sacks -- a Bay Area investor who's backing the Florida governor -- GOP Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, conservative activist Christopher Rufo and anti-lockdown Stanford professor Jay Bhattacharya were there to lend their support."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Then, as soon as the Ron wave started, it began to peter out."

This is a positive sentiment.

"Musk was his usual entertaining self, but -- despite having Trump's chief rival for the GOP nomination and several other big names in the conservative movement present -- the whole thing had the air of a bleary 8 a.m. all-hands Zoom call, just without the video."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Once upon a time not too long ago -- January, say -- the sky looked like the limit for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential ambitions."

This is a negative sentiment.

"According to the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate, DeSantis had closed to within 13 points as of late February -- and, more importantly, Trump was well under 50 percent at 43.2 percent to DeSantis' 30.0 percent."

This is a negative sentiment.

"As of Wednesday, Trump sat at 54.9 percent in the polling aggregate, an even 30 points ahead of DeSantis at 20.9 percent."

This is a positive sentiment.