Source: AFP
Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest people, says he won’t directly support Joe Biden or Donald Trump in the US election — but one look at his X feed makes it clear his heart is with the Republican.
Trump, meanwhile, needs cash — saddled with millions of dollars in legal trouble, he’s also preparing to fight the most expensive election in US history.
So could Musk lead to Trump’s rescue?
In a recent interview with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, the owner of X, formerly of Twitter, said he had “distanced himself” from Biden but argued that he was “unlikely” to contribute to any campaign.
If he chose to support a candidate, “I will give a very detailed explanation of why I support one or the other.”
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To Musk’s close watchers, however, it appeared to depart from a steadfast commitment days earlier to stay above the fray.
It came as Trump picked up the phone to call multi-billionaires, hoping they would open their checkbooks and bail him out, according to the Washington Post.
It’s not something Trump enjoys saying coolly to those wealthier than him, but the former president trails Biden badly in fundraising and the campaign still has eight months to go.
Billionaire’s Breakfast
Two of the world’s most public and controversial figures, Trump and Musk haven’t always seen eye to eye.
Trump, for example, doesn’t believe in electric cars like the ones Musk, who also heads Tesla, has championed — he’s derided them as inconvenient and dependent on government subsidies.
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During his 2016-2020 presidency, Musk kept his distance — though that was before his public tilt toward the far right.
Musk also flirted with Trump’s alternatives in the Republican primary, voicing support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy before they broke out.
Observers agree that Trump has remained silent about Musk’s transgressions in hopes of his money.
The Washington Post revealed that Musk attended a breakfast for billionaires in Florida last month, where the former president introduced a group of donors.
This prompted quick speculation – but Musk said it was “just breakfast” and nothing more came of it.
“Dark Money”
If Musk wanted to help Trump more directly, he could hand over unlimited cash anonymously, according to US election laws.
Dubbed “dark money” by his critics, Musk could fund an incognito candidate through specially created nonprofits called Super PACS.
“These groups can run ads that literally say, ‘vote Trump'” without any required disclosure about the source of the money behind them, said Shanna Ports, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.
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Another way is to contribute after the fact: Musk could help write off Trump’s debts after the election and thereby avoid upsetting the current occupant of the White House.
A rumor has been circulating in recent weeks that Trump was also having Musk buy the social media platform Truth Social and combine it with X.
Truth Social’s parent company went public last week, with shares initially soaring on Wall Street. That meant Trump, who owns nearly 80 million shares in the venture, now has shares worth billions, meaning he may be less desperate for cash.
But that wealth is only on paper, and financial experts warn that the large valuation could disappear if Trump ever tries to sell his shares.
‘Fuel oil’
Money aside, Musk’s political leanings give Trump a clear boost.
His social media presence is often filled with baseless conspiracy theories, misinformation and right-wing Trump-aligned rants, especially on immigration.
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They also take place on a platform it owns — where it freely has the ability to promote (or demote) certain content.
The US Federal Election Commission has received complaints in the past when the platforms were deemed biased, though it has never acted on them.
“These combine to create a combustible moment for us where the Twitter (X) experience is in the hands of a random, erratic billionaire who’s bored and using it to promote his own views,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at Watchdog Free Press. . .
Donations or not, “Musk’s influence is incredibly powerful,” he added.
Source: AFP