Current:Home > ContactThe new Twitter account @DeSantisJet tracks the Florida governor's air travel -Wealth Momentum Network
The new Twitter account @DeSantisJet tracks the Florida governor's air travel
View
Date:2025-04-16 16:11:50
A new Twitter account is tracking the state government jet used by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — and providing updates after the plane lands.
Jack Sweeney, the 20-year-old who created the popular Twitter page tracking billionaire Elon Musk's private jet, recently debuted the new account following the Florida governor.
Sweeney told NPR that he doesn't have a specific goal in mind for @DeSantisJet other than to "share the information and make it available to everybody that might be interested."
He said he had been intending to create an account following Florida's government jet and eventually got around to it, given the buzz around the expected Republican presidential hopeful.
"It was on my list to do, and with all the things going on, I thought it would be good to bring transparency there to everybody and bring my abilities for everyone else to see where the jet is going," Sweeney said.
Neither the Florida governor's office nor a DeSantis political spokesperson replied to a request for comment.
It's not uncommon for governors — especially those in large states — to take government-owned planes or helicopters on official business. But DeSantis has been criticized for how he's used taxpayer-funded aircraft in the past.
The nonprofit watchdog Integrity Florida said recently that the governor was traveling on a state plane to attend events that resembled campaign rallies, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The group's research director, Ben Wilcox, accused DeSantis of "really blurring the lines between what is considered campaign activity and his public duties of the office," a charge the governor's office denied.
The Twitter account notes that tracked flights "do not guarantee that DeSantis is onboard." Sweeney, an information technology major at the University of Central Florida, said he may also try to track any flights DeSantis takes on the private planes of his political donors.
In December, the account Sweeney created to track Musk's jet was was suspended after Musk bought Twitter and said the account posed a personal safety risk.
A version of the account is back up but provides tracking information on Musk's jet with a 24-hour delay. The page following DeSantis's jet is also delayed by one day.
Sweeney also posts flight tracking information for certain jets he follows on other social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook.
veryGood! (77)
Related
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- MILAN FASHION PHOTOS: Naomi Campbell stuns at Dolce&Gabbana in collection highlighting lingerie
- Taiwan factory fire death toll rises to 9 after 2 more bodies found
- California bill to have humans drivers ride in autonomous trucks is vetoed by governor
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- 5 hospitalized in home explosion that left house 'heavily damaged'
- Crashed F-35: What to know about the high-tech jet that often doesn't work correctly
- US diplomat says intelligence from ‘Five Eyes’ nations helped Canada to link India to Sikh’s killing
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Germany considering short-term migration border controls with Poland and the Czech Republic
Ranking
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- India-Canada tensions shine light on complexities of Sikh activism in the diaspora
- Arizona’s sweltering summer could set new record for most heat-associated deaths in big metro
- At the edge of the UN security perimeter, those with causes (and signs) try to be heard
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Flamingos in Wisconsin? Tropical birds visit Lake Michigan beach in a first for the northern state
- UNGA Briefing: Nagorno-Karabakh, Lavrov and what else is going on at the UN
- Vaccines are still tested with horseshoe crab blood. The industry is finally changing
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Three dead in targeted shooting across the street from Atlanta mall, police say
Biden to open embassies in Cook Islands, Niue as he welcomes Pacific leaders for Washington summit
Auto workers still have room to expand their strike against car makers. But they also face risks
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Brewers 1B Rowdy Tellez pitches final outs for Brewers postseason clinch game
New York Civil Liberties Union sues NYPD for records on transgender sensitivity training
Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess Are Engaged