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Washington:
Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world, 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 — burdened with millions of dollars in legal troubles, he is also preparing to fight what will be the most expensive election in American history.
So could Musk come to Trump’s rescue?
In a recent interview with former CNN host Don Lemon, the owner of
If he chooses to endorse a candidate, “I will give a very detailed explanation of why I endorse one or the other.”
To Musk observers, however, this seemed to deviate from a firm pledge to stay above the fray just days earlier.
It came as Trump picked up the phone to call multibillionaires, hoping they would open their checkbooks and come to his aid, according to The Washington Post.
Cold-calling people richer than him is not something Trump enjoys, but the former president is trailing Biden badly in fundraising and the campaign still has eight months to go.
Billionaire breakfast
Two of the most public and controversial figures in the world, Trump and Musk, have not always seen eye to eye.
For example, Trump doesn’t believe in electric cars like the ones that Musk, who is also chief at Tesla, advocates – he has ridiculed them for being cumbersome and dependent on government subsidies.
During his 2016-2020 presidency, Musk kept his distance — although that was before his public tilt toward the far right.
Musk also flirted with Trump alternatives during the Republican primaries, throwing his support behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy before they spiraled out of control.
Observers agree that Trump has remained quiet about Musk’s transgressions, hoping for his money.
The Washington Post revealed that Musk attended a breakfast for billionaires in Florida last month, where the former president presented to a group of donors.
That provoked rapid 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 anonymous cash under US election laws.
Called “dark money” by critics, Musk could fund a candidate incognito through specially created nonprofits called Super PACS.
“These groups can run ads that literally say ‘vote for Trump’” without any required disclosure about the source of the money behind them, said Shanna Ports, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.
Another option is to contribute after the fact: Musk could help erase Trump’s debts after the election, thus preventing the current occupant of the White House from being discredited.
In recent weeks, a rumor has circulated that Trump would also pitch Musk to buy his social media platform Truth Social and combine it with X.
Truth Social’s parent company went public last week, with its shares initially soaring on Wall Street. That meant Trump, who owns nearly 80 million shares in the company, is now estimated to have shares in the billions, meaning he may be less desperate for cash.
But that wealth is only on paper, and financial experts warn the mega-valuation could disappear if Trump ever tries to sell his shares.
‘flammable’
Money aside, Musk’s political leanings are clearly giving Trump a boost.
His social media presence is often filled with baseless conspiracy theories, disinformation and right-wing talking points aligned with Trump, especially on immigration.
They also take place on a platform he owns, where he has free rein to promote (or demote) certain content.
The US Federal Election Commission has received complaints in the past that platforms were perceived to be biased, but has never acted on them.
“This combination creates for us a combustible moment where the experience on Twitter (X) is in the hands of a haphazard, erratic billionaire who is bored and uses it to promote his own views,” said Nora Benavidez, senior advisor at the watchdog Free Press. .
Donations or not, “Musk’s influence is incredibly powerful,” she added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by WhatsNew2Day staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)