The former president began his day on Wednesday morning by spewing a series of attacks at the man expected to be his biggest rival for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.

Rachel Sharp has the full story.

Another Truth Social post about Ron DeSantis this morning also sees former president Donald Trump take a swipe at Fox News:

I got 1.2 Million more votes in Florida than DeSanctus. Also, Bill Hemmer at FoxNews just used an old April Poll showing me leading by 51% to 25%. Why doesn’t Fox get a more up to date poll, 72% to 18%, with the other candidates much lower. Just like 2016!!! It’s why people are leaving FoxNews. P.S. Without me, DeSanctus would have lost the Primary and the General. Thank you President Trump!

For years, Elon Musk kept fairly quiet about his political beliefs. He was a registered independent voter in California and claims to have supported Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.

But the days of Mr Musk keeping his politics quiet are over.

Since the onset of Covid-19, Mr Musk has become increasingly vocal about his right-wing politics — railing against Covid restrictions and work-from-home policies, urging people to support Republicans in the midterm elections, being accused of tweeting antisemitic statements, and offering a platform to Tucker Carlson.

On Wednesday, Mr Musk will reportedly make his most direct foray into the 2024 presidential election yet when he is expected to help Gov Ron DeSantis of Florida launch his campaign. NBC News first reported the collaboration.

Here’s what Mr Musk has said so far about the 2024 election:

In a notable moment of restraint, Donald Trump waited until this morning to unload on Ron DeSantis despite the news breaking yesterday afternoon that the Florida governor would be announcing his 2024 run this evening during a Twitter live event with Elon Musk.

Here’s what the former president had to say about Mr DeSantis (much of which he has said before…):

Look, Rob DeSanctimonious came to me asking for help. He was losing badly, by 31 points, to popular Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. He was getting ready to drop out of the race – Ran a terrible campaign! Ron told me he had one last chance, my Support & Endorsement, which Putnam, and everyone else, wanted also. I gave it to Ron, and the race was over. In one day, he went from losing badly, to winning by a lot. With 3 LARGE TRUMP RALLIES, he WON THE GENERAL ELECTION in an upset. DISLOYAL!!!

Ron DeSanctus can’t win the General Election (or get the Nomination) because he VOTED TO OBLITERATE SOCIAL SECURITY, EVEN WANTING TO RAISE THE MINIMUM AGE TO 70 (or more!), VOTED TO BADLY WOUND MEDICARE, AND FOUGHT HARD AND VOTED FOR A 23% “TAX ON EVERYTHING” SALES TAX. He was, and is, a disciple of horrible RINO Paul Ryan, and others too many to mention. Also, he desperately needs a personality transplant and, to the best of my knowledge, they are not medically available yet. A disloyal person!

I BUILT THE GREATEST ECONOMY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, NO INFLATION, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, AND SOON DOMINANCE, THE STRONGEST BORDER EVER, RECORD BEST EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS, BIGGEST TAX & REGULATION CUTS, REBUILT OUR MILITARY, NO WARS WITH RUSSIA/UKRAINE OR CHINA/TAIWAN (OR ANYWHERE!), AND THE USA WAS RESPECTED ALL OVER THE WORLD! WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY?

6pm ET – Ron DeSantis expected to announce 2024 bid in Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk. The audio-only event will be moderated by entrepreneur David Sacks.

A new campaign video is also expected to be released.

7pm ET – Ron DeSantis expected to appear on Fox News for interview after campaign launch.

The Florida governor, who is seen as the leading rival to Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, will kick off his bid for the White House during a Wednesday night Twitter Spaces event with the billionaire.

The Twitter Spaces event will take place at 6pm ET and be moderated by tech entrepreneur David Sacks, who is a supporter of Mr DeSantis and a close business adviser to Mr Musk, according to NBC News.

Graeme Massie has the details.

Former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial for falsifying business records is set to begin on 25 March 2024, days after voting begins in Republican presidential primaries as Mr Trump once again seeks the GOP nomination. He has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Trump grew agitated with the announcement of the trial date, waved his hands and shook his head in disapproval, then folded his arms in frustration as he begins to stare down what could be a weeks-long trial in a critical period in the middle of his 2024 campaign.

Donald Trump’s circle has mocked Ron DeSantis’ plans to launch his 2024 campaign in an audio-only Twitter space event with Elon Musk, saying it works for him as it means he “doesn’t have to interact with people”.

The Florida governor will take part in a live Twitter event at 6pm ET on Wednesday night, overseen by David Sacks.

A Mr Trump adviser told POLITICO that the launch is “perfect” for him – in echoes of Mr Trump’s attacks on Mr DeSantis’ personality.

“Announcing on Twitter is perfect for Ron DeSantis,” they said.

“This way he doesn’t have to interact with people and the media can’t ask him any questions.”

Meanwhile, Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the Make America Great Again PAC called the governor’s launch “out of touch”.

“This is one of the most out-of-touch campaign launches in modern history. The only thing less relatable than a niche campaign launch on Twitter, is DeSantis’ after party at the uber elite Four Seasons resort in Miami,” she said.

Last spring, Mr DeSantis signed legislation giving a $5,000 after-tax bonus to new law enforcement recruits in Florida. The bill, Mr DeSantis claimed, would lure the “best and the brightest” law enforcement officers from states around the country to Florida.