we have of learning laws and locked we have yet to _ of learning laws and locked we have yet to fully — of learning laws and locked we have yet to fully recover. it was a bear difficulties every getting an introduction to ron desantis and they are touting some of his conservative priorities as well as a sampling of covid—19 and waiting for them to reconnect and this well anticipated announcement from ron desantis which in the us presidential election and paul's already showing that this election is still a year and a half away. however, polls are showing that former president donald trump still is a sizeable lead. we are talking

to analysts over the course of the past few hours and they're all saying that it is likely they could win against donald trump but he has a lot of work ahead of him. in miami frequency protesters in front of the hotel where ron desantis is meeting his top donors in the florida governor has entered this race and seeing where he is expected to be making this announcement. and about 100 ron desantis protesters across street from his hotel as you can see, they're chanting and holding signs that say things like fascism is not welcome here. let's go to dante and his running for mayor in sandy and georgia. thank you for joining us. we are all anticipating

this announcement. what is your response to ron desantis, many have put their name in the hat for this. is a crowded race for sure but the reality is unless donald trump is indicted and convicted, i don't think any of them have the popularity of the bandwidth to stop him. if popularity of the bandwidth to stop him. ., , ,. , popularity of the bandwidth to stop him. ., , , ., , him. if ron desantis does get them not to run against _ him. if ron desantis does get them not to run against president - him. if ron desantis does get them not to run against president joe - not to run against presidentjoe biden, but it's going to take for ron desantis to win over those people were independent, people on the democratic side and maybe swaying them away from the president and there they make their vote stop you will all be honest, i don't think they can do it. the

you will all be honest, i don't think they can do it. the naacp has called for a — think they can do it. the naacp has called for a travel _ think they can do it. the naacp has called for a travel ban _ think they can do it. the naacp has called for a travel ban to _ think they can do it. the naacp has called for a travel ban to florida - called for a travel ban to florida because of what he is doing. the voter suppression and the information that is being taken out of schools. i think we talked about first amendment rights and telling her history and its context, these things matter the fact that he can even run his own state shows that he is not equipped to run this country and i don't know how you went over those voters because he has not done enough. he is not speaking to the american people, he's strained to write the coat—tails would donald trump done and donald trump is in the race and there's no way that i can foresee him pulling this off running at the way is currently. the eo - le running at the way is currently. the --eole of running at the way is currently. the people of florida have spoken in a is what they want the two leaders governor and he has done things that are been seen as popular in terms of his conservative principles. actually, busters hang onto that

thought, we are not going back to the live feed of this announcement from apple one on twitter —— we are now going back. we're still having technical difficulties. what a wild ride here, right? of quebec to the question that in terms of democracy, the people i've spoken and this is what they want to lead the state and some of his conservative views on gun control and abortion are popular among its voters. what do you say to that camp that want him to be in power? i that camp that want him to be in ower? , ., . power? i grew up in florida, i grew u . power? i grew up in florida, i grew u- in power? i grew up in florida, i grew up in orlando. _ power? i grew up in florida, i grew up in orlando, florida _ power? i grew up in florida, i grew up in orlando, florida in _ power? i grew up in florida, i grew up in orlando, florida in which - up in orlando, florida in which you'll see is the views of north florida are different than the views of central florida and this can differ very much from the views of south florida. i

differ very much from the views of south florida.— south florida. i apologise, ithink we're working _ south florida. i apologise, ithink we're working out, _ south florida. i apologise, ithink we're working out, twitter - south florida. i apologise, ithink we're working out, twitter is - we're working out, twitter is working out its technical difficulties let's go to ron desantis now. they are obviously having some technical difficulties we are just going to ride with the. i'm sorry, were going to finish this part, the voters in terms of democracy, you say he not going to win but he has one before and is one other races as well. ., . well. running in florida, running in the south, — well. running in florida, running in the south, running _ well. running in florida, running in the south, running of _ well. running in florida, running in the south, running of the _ well. running in florida, running in the south, running of the westernl the south, running of the western running in the north, running throughout the united states of

america is completely different beast and so, some of these polls right now, they're showing that he is still down 30 points becomes the donald trump and i think that while people in florida may be speaking, nationally, people are speaking as well and i think that from my perspective, what we are seeing on the ground, you cannot do what he has done and he saw the backlash they came to donald trump in 2020. there is a very significant number of folks have spoken up and say they do not want this type of government they voted donald trump out and i'm pretty sure they're all mobilising right now in preparation for whomever comes out of the republican party. whomever comes out of the republican pa . ., . ., , party. you are now sitting as a candidate _ party. you are now sitting as a candidate yourself. _ party. you are now sitting as a candidate yourself. what - party. you are now sitting as a candidate yourself. what is - party. you are now sitting as a candidate yourself. what is it i party. you are now sitting as a i candidate yourself. what is it that you go through this make the process of when you decide to declare, what is it that you need to do to win. just talk to me as someone who is a

candidate like ron desantis and what inspires you to do this in the first place? i inspires you to do this in the first lace? ., ., , inspires you to do this in the first lace? . ., , . , inspires you to do this in the first lace? ., , ., , ~' place? i ran last year but i think what insnires — place? i ran last year but i think what inspires us _ place? i ran last year but i think what inspires us is _ place? i ran last year but i think what inspires us is the - place? i ran last year but i think what inspires us is the need - what inspires us is the need for change and i think america has grown and the political views in this country have changed a lot and i think that's what we're fighting against. using people on both sides were fighting for a way of life, fighting to protect a way of life and fighting to ensure that those coming up behind us are protected and when we are talking about why people are running in georgia and around this nation, you're seeing so many folks like myself and so many younger folks who stepped up to run because so much is at stake. i cannot speakfor because so much is at stake. i cannot speak for everybody and i am a descendent of slaves in the united states of america. when i hear make america great again, or right here in the of these other quote unquote conservative values, i know what

those things lead to. and when i'm looking at what i'm fighting for, we are fighting for the right to just breathe and exist. why people are stepping up, that's why. we are fighting through the right to be seen, to be heard and to be valued. outside of the us, lots of questions are asked in terms of my things got so heated and why is the country become so divided. as a democrat, how is that you will be reunited again? what is it going to take to dial down that anger? i again? what is it going to take to dial down that anger?— dial down that anger? i think the reali is dial down that anger? i think the reality is what _ dial down that anger? i think the reality is what we _ dial down that anger? i think the reality is what we saw _ dial down that anger? i think the reality is what we saw in - dial down that anger? i think the reality is what we saw in 2020 i dial down that anger? i think the i reality is what we saw in 2020 was dial down that anger? i think the - reality is what we saw in 2020 was a lot of folks, so much is going on. at covid—i9. yet the black lives matter movement. he so many elements we were going into 2020 we saw the rise of the me too and so many

people came together collectively and simply cannot allow this to continue. and it's going to take that level of unity across these different groups again to ensure that these collective voices are seen and heard because what we are seeing is a pushback to the progress that we have seen in this country. the fact that in ron desantis�*s own country, they don't want to mention rosa parks or show the poem. these are realities and realities that should and are protected by our first amendment rights which was seeing many of these cases being overturned and the supreme court, but that's the fight that we are up against and as long as that fight exists, he was see is speak into correlates and unite and continue to fight this battle. but we have seen

in georgia with the republicans are trying to push nationwide disputes governor kemp dial it back in the dialled it back a lot because as long as this rhetoric was being pushed, people were going to fight back and what is going to be interesting about this is to see what donald trump does and what ron desantis does in terms of the rhetoric they are putting out because a lot of the rhetoric, not only does inspire their voters, but insights immobilizes groups of people who have not voted and that is going to be a very interesting part. is going to be a very interesting art. ,, ._ , , is going to be a very interesting part. stay with us. this posits that thou~ht part. stay with us. this posits that thought right _ part. stay with us. this posits that thought right there _ part. stay with us. this posits that thought right there we're - part. stay with us. this posits that thought right there we're going i part. stay with us. this posits that thought right there we're going to| thought right there we're going to take a look at some the challenges over what is going on on twitter that ron desantis faces. nicky schiller is in the newsroom with more. so the much anticipated republican face off is on, with ron desantis launching his campaign to be the republican nominee for 202a. he is now seen as the main rival to this man — donald trump, of course.

now, one place we can see that rivalry is in the opinion polls. now, last year, both men in many polls were running roughly neck and neck. that has changed. let me show you this poll of polls from real clear politics. it runs from december through until may. now the green line is ron desantis while the purple line is donald trump. and you can see that gap has really widened. let me show you the figures — 55.5% for donald trump compared to 21.1% for ron desantis. that's a more than 30—point lead for donald trump. now, the other thing that both men are going to need is a lot of money. it is expensive to run campaigns. take a look at this figure, $6.6 billion — that is how much presidential candidates spent in the 2020 election. what do they spend it on? well, there's television adverts. there's also digital advertising. that's the things that you see on facebook

and google, amongst others. finally, there are staff salaries. for every campaign, there has to be a team of people working behind the scenes, and that is expensive. now, ron desantis, he is said to have a lot of money. politico estimate it to be $110 million. now, we know at the end of last month, he had $88 million in a friends of ron desantis fund. compare that with donald trump. in the first three months of the year, he fundraised $18.8 million. so there is quite a gap between the two, but they are not the only candidates in this race — a number of others, including nikki haley. now, her campaign manager, in a leaked memo this week, described mr desantis as "trump without the charm". now, the voters who get to decide will get to know the candidates over the coming months, in particular in the tv debates, which will start

later in the summer. the mayor of sandy springs and georgia. thank you again for your patience and we're looking at the twitter feed were expecting the announcement from ron desantis needs the republican governor of florida throwing his hat into the ring officially for the presidential run—in 202a. i want to go back to the discussion that we were just having as the temperature has risen so much between democrats and republicans in the united states and in terms of being the republican, what is your olive branch to the other side? i what is your olive branch to the other side?— what is your olive branch to the other side? ~' ., , . . other side? i think the olive branch is humanity. _ other side? i think the olive branch is humanity, the _ other side? i think the olive branch is humanity, the value _ other side? i think the olive branch is humanity, the value of _ other side? i think the olive branch is humanity, the value of life. - other side? i think the olive branch is humanity, the value of life. we i is humanity, the value of life. we would get a lot of the polls and the issues, the majority of the issues are as seeing some polls are over 60% of republicans saw that there was a need for police reform. they

saw that a majority of overwhelmingly americans stands for abortion rights and took them over those olive branches are, let's talk about what seeing it is on level bounds playing fields and being able to work from there. this doesn't work unless you can see me in the issues that i face, you can see the issues that i face, you can see the issues that i face, you can see the issues that my daughter is going to face and and we have people on both sides i can look across the island see that, then we'll be able to move forward. that can happen. we're going to continue the spreading of heads, of sorts. {line going to continue the spreading of heads, of sorts.— going to continue the spreading of heads, of sorts. one final question for ou, heads, of sorts. one final question for you. have _ heads, of sorts. one final question for you. have you _ heads, of sorts. one final question for you, have you lost _ heads, of sorts. one final question for you, have you lost faith - heads, of sorts. one final question for you, have you lost faith in - heads, of sorts. one final question for you, have you lost faith in the i for you, have you lost faith in the democratic process in the united states question ivan haven't lost faith at all. i states question ivan haven't lost faith at all-— faith at all. i think reducing right now is a generational _ faith at all. i think reducing right now is a generational shift. - faith at all. i think reducing right now is a generational shift. and | faith at all. i think reducing right. now is a generational shift. and you can see the next generation of leaders and as it is right now, as

it is right now, i think we are seeing is seeing is there still people of good conscience and good faith were willing to step up and say no. faith were willing to step up and sa no. . ~' faith were willing to step up and sa no. . ~ i. faith were willing to step up and sa no. . ~ . ., faith were willing to step up and sa no. . . ., say no. thank you so much for your patience and _ say no. thank you so much for your patience and we _ say no. thank you so much for your patience and we just _ say no. thank you so much for your patience and we just want - say no. thank you so much for your patience and we just want to - say no. thank you so much for your patience and we just want to come | patience and we just want to come up before we leave, we just want to show you joe biden is now tweeting about the twitter situation that is going on with ron desantis and if you want to take a look at that, we're hearing that he says that they don't have any technical problems on their end. may the race began in the united states. be aware of what's going on in the world. you can always download our app that will keep you in touch with all of today's news. we will get to this twitter feed with ron desantis and this big announcement. goodbye for now.

hello. the weather looks set to stay mostly fine and settled over the next few days, but there will be subtle differences in the feel of the weather from place to place. on wednesday, parts of south—east wales saw highs of 23 degrees. but on the east coast of england, yes, the sun was shining, but the breeze was coming in off a chilly sea and so it felt a little bit cooler. and over the next few days that will continue to be the case. high pressure will be in charge, but the winds around the high pressure flow in this clockwise direction. and that means that for some of us, at times, that wind will be coming in off the chilly waters of the sea. for thursday, temperatures around some northern and eastern coasts just 11 to 11; degrees. compare that with 22 again with some shelter in the south of wales. this is how the weather looks for the day ahead. quite a lot of cloud at times across parts of england and wales, but not all the time.

northern ireland, i think, will tend to see a fair amount of cloud feeding in as well, but there'll be some spells of sunshine. i think the best of the sunshine will be found across the northern half of scotland, but in the far north, it will be windy and on the chilly side at 11 in lerwick. as i've already shown you, the highest temperatures will be in shelter across south wales, maybe south—west england, up to around 22 degrees. now during thursday night, we'll keep some areas of cloud here and there. there could be a few mist patches and a more generally cloudy weather will spill into the far west of scotland, particularly the western isles, with the odd spot of rain. it mayjust turn a little bit chilly in places, temperatures typically between 5 and 9 degrees, but our area of high pressure still with us as we head on into friday. around the southern flank of that high, particularly across parts of south—east england, we are going to have a noticeable northeasterly breeze which will make it feel actually really quite chilly if you're spending your day on the east coast. but england, wales, northern ireland, southern scotland seeing some spells of sunshine. northern scotland likely

to have a bit more in the way of cloud, maybe just the odd spot of rain or drizzle. 11; degrees for stornoway, but 20 for glasgow, for liverpool, for birmingham, and 21 degrees in cardiff. and then for the weekend, well, again, around some of the coasts, if you're exposed to that onshore breeze, it will at times feel rather cool. but where you have some shelter, inland and down towards the south—west of the uk, temperatures climbing to 22 degrees.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from johannesburg. i'm stephen sackur. for 29 years, south africa's national politics has been dominated by the african national congress. but right now, the anc is in big trouble. a protracted energy crisis is doing further damage to an economy already hit by shocking levels of unemployment, inequality and corruption.

now, if the anc is faltering, who is best placed to