Preparing to Launch... Sort of?

Plus: Why the Luxury Economy Is Exploding in a Shaky Economy

Preparing to Launch... Sort of?
The spin on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis launching his campaign via Twitter Spaces fell into two camps in the Twitterverse last night. Either he was so popular that he broke the internet or it was a disastrous presidential campaign launch because of Twitter glitches. Visuals would have been good though. As one NeverTrumper put it, “I never imagined the future would mean gathering around the radio in 2023.”

To be fair, it was a solid case against the usefulness of the legacy media, regardless of tech glitches. The DeSantis-Trump barbs will dominate the discussion today. As I’m writing this, it’s likely Trump has already said something outrageous that will overshadow the glitches.

Following the online event, Elon tweeted, “All Presidential candidates are most welcome on this platform.”

As I mentioned yesterday, it was a possibility that Elon would overshadow Ron. From what I can tell from the reaction, the most quoted line was from Elon — “Yes, Twitter was expensive. Free speech is priceless.”

A recorded version of the conversation can be found here.

As for the messy primary season, I look to Tina Turner, RIP.

GOP United on Debt Ceiling Fight
The Washington Post reported that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged Republicans not to break ranks over the debt ceiling crisis during a closed meeting at the GOP’s Capitol Hill Club. He emphasized the their upper hand in negotiations and encouraged them to support vulnerable lawmakers' reelection campaigns. President Biden's recent concessions on the federal budget failed to sway House Republicans, who refuse to consider increasing revenue or cutting defense spending. To be fair, there seems to be a lot of stuff in the news that can be cut from defense spending.

The standoff increases the risk of no agreement by the Treasury Department's deadline of June 1, leading to a potential government default. The Post wrote that Speaker McCarthy's hard line is influenced by pressure from far-right members and the House Freedom Caucus.