Florida-based Ron DeSantis plans to announce the start of his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday in a live Twitter feed with Elon Musk, owner of the platform, according to people familiar with his plans.

Mr. DeSantis’ entry into the Republican primary race against former President Donald J. Trump was widely expected, but the decision to do so with Mr. Musk adds an element of surprise and gives Mr. DeSantis access to a large online audience. NBC News first announced plans.

The Twitter Spaces event, scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, adds a level of risk to a deployment expected to be carefully scripted and ensures Mr. DeSantis’ first impression as a presidential candidate matches Mr. Musk’s. , an eccentric businessman who was at times considered the richest man in the world.

One of the challenges for Mr. DeSantis as he enters the 2024 race will be battling for attention with Mr. Trump, who has demonstrated for decades the ability to command everyone’s attention. Trump’s aides have been signaling for months that he plans to return to Twitter as soon as possible. Mr. Musk has already lifted the ban on the use of the former president, which was imposed when Twitter was a public company.

In addition to his Twitter appearance, Mr. DeSantis is expected to appear Wednesday night on Fox News in an interview with Trey Gowdy, a former congressman from South Carolina. according to the network. The Governor also gathered donors Wednesday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami to begin fundraising for his campaign.

The pro-Trump Supercomputing Committee ridiculed the plans.

“This is one of the most out-of-touch campaign launches in modern history,” said Caroline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump-supporting Make America Great Again. “The only thing less significant than launching a niche Twitter campaign is DeSantis’ after-party at the super-luxury Four Seasons resort in Miami.”

Musk said in event with The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that he does not officially support Mr. DeSantis or any other Republican. On Monday, he retweeted a video from the opening ceremony of the presidential election of Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, another GOP candidate.

The DeSantis event with Mr. Musk will be moderated by David Sacks, a Republican donor who supports the governor and is close to Mr. Musk.

Mr Musk said he voted for President Biden in the 2020 election but has since criticized him and his administration, which has a cold relationship with Tesla, his electric car company. The billionaire said it is difficult for Mr. Biden to keep in touch with voters at the age of 80.

When asked about Mr. Biden in interview on CNBC Musk said last week that he just wants a “normal person” to lead the country.

“It’s not just about whether they share your beliefs?” He said. “But can they get things done?”

Although Mr. Musk has described himself as a moderate, having given relatively small amounts to both Republicans and Democrats in the past, in recent years he has shifted his support to the right. On Twitter, he participated and shared right-wing conspiracy theories, including the October attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Mr. Musk has expressed his support for Mr. DeSantis, including last July when he tweeted that the Florida governor “easy to winif he takes on Mr. Biden in 2024. And in November he answered in the affirmative when asked by a Twitter user if he would support Mr. DeSantis in this year’s elections.

Last summer, when Mr. DeSantis was asked about Mr. Musk’s potential support, the Florida governor cracked: “I applaud the support of African Americans. What can I say?” (Mr. Musk is white and from South Africa.)

Over the years, Mr. Musk has donated to both Republicans and Democrats, but in relatively small amounts.

In Florida, Mr. DeSantis intended to support legislation that he said was to protect people from “Silicon Valley elites.” He also criticized Silicon Valley companies for their efforts to remove disinformation from their platforms, which he likened to attacks on freedom of speech and truth, undertaken in conjunction with government officials.

“You’ve seen the administrative state collude with Big Tech to censor truthful information, whether it’s people attacking Covid lockdowns, questioning the effectiveness of masks, or closing schools,” Mr. DeSantis said in an April speech to the Heritage Foundation. an influential conservative think tank. “Big tech companies have made a concerted effort to do what the government is never allowed to do directly.”

The Secret Service detained the driver of a box truck late Monday night after the vehicle crashed into security barriers at Lafayette Square, near the White House, authorities said.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said a preliminary investigation found that the driver “may have intentionally crashed into the security barriers.”

The crash happened on the north side of Lafayette Square on 16th Street NW, about a block from the White House, just before 10 p.m., he said. He added that neither White House nor Secret Service personnel were hurt.

Authorities closed streets for several blocks around the White House after completing an inspection of the truck, which Mr. Guglielmi said found nothing dangerous. A D.C. fire department spokesman said his agency was called in to help with the investigation, with local TV stations broadcasting images of the robot opening the back of a truck.

According to Mr. Guglielmi, the secret service conducted interrogations to try to determine the “cause and method” of the crash.

Cops have fortified the White House in recent years response to instances people who violate the complex. The Secret Service began modernization White House perimeter fencing last year, doubling their height to about 13 feet. The kid broke that fence last month after squeeze through the bars on the north side of the complex.

There have been at least two deaths in the past two years when cars crashed into barricades near Capitol Hill. In 2021, almost three months after the bloody January 6 riots, a car crashed into two Capitol police officers, killing one and injuring another. The assailant, Noah R. Green, was shot dead after he charged the police with a knife.

In August, another man drove his car into a barricade near the Capitol. The man, Richard A. York III, then got out of the burning vehicle and fired several shots into the air before shooting himself as police approached him.