Current:Home > FinanceThe new Twitter account @DeSantisJet tracks the Florida governor's air travel -EquityExchange
The new Twitter account @DeSantisJet tracks the Florida governor's air travel
View
Date:2025-04-16 22:55:00
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! (27)
Related
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- The anti-Black Friday: How else to spend the day after Thanksgiving, from hiking to baking
- Rescue of 41 workers trapped in collapsed tunnel in India reaches final stretch of digging
- Thanksgiving is a key day for NHL standings: Who will make the playoffs?
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Madagascar president on course for reelection as supporters claim they were promised money to vote
- Pilot killed when small plane crashes near central Indiana airport
- Missouri governor granting pardons at pace not seen since WWII era
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- FDA warns about Neptune's Fix supplements after reports of seizures and hospitalizations
Ranking
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Myanmar military says drone attack by ethnic armed groups in northeast destroyed about 120 trucks
- Israel drawn to face Iceland in Euro 2024 playoffs, then would play winner of Bosnia vs. Ukraine
- Bananas Foster, berries and boozy: Goose Island 2023 Bourbon County Stouts out Black Friday
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Drew Brees reveals lingering impacts of NFL injury: 'My right arm does not work'
- The Excerpt podcast: How to navigate politics around the dinner table this holiday
- Thanksgiving Grandma Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton Reunite for Holiday for 8th Year
Recommendation
2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
Brazilian police bust international drug mule ring in Sao Paulo
Hawaii’s governor wants to make it easier for travelers from Japan to visit the islands
World's richest 1% emitting enough carbon to cause heat-related deaths for 1.3 million people, report finds
Small twin
Here's where the middle class is experiencing the best — and worst — standard of living
Missouri governor granting pardons at pace not seen since WWII era
Sam Altman to join Microsoft research team after OpenAI ousts him. Here's what we know.