Politics
Billionaire and X owner Elon Musk originally supported Ron DeSantis for president, though Florida’s governor has since dropped out of the Republican primary.
Donald Trump is now the likely GOP nominee, who hasn’t been on X (formerly Twitter) in some time and is actively fundraising after taking a significant financial hit recently in the courtroom.
The two reportedly met on Sunday.
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When Worlds Collide – Elon Musk Meets Trump
The Guardian reports, “Donald Trump met with billionaire Elon Musk in Florida over the weekend as the former Republican president seeks a major cash infusion for his re-election campaign, The New York Times reported.”
“According to the Times, Trump met with Musk – one of the world’s richest people – and a number of wealthy Republican donors on Sunday and hopes to have a one-on-one discussion soon with Musk, the CEO of both Tesla Inc and SpaceX, and the owner-executive chairman of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.”
The story continued:
Trump, whose personal fortune took recent hits from judgments against him in a New York civil fraud case and a separate defamation trial, is aiming to line up additional major contributors to his campaign for president, the Times said.
Musk has not said whether he plans to back Trump financially, but the South African-born billionaire entrepreneur has suggested in social media posts that he is opposed to incumbent Joe Biden – who defeated Trump in 2020 – winning a second term in November.
Musk has long sought to cast himself as politically independent but has previously stated that he voted for Biden in 2020. Since then however, he has criticised the president and clashed with his administration.
The Guardian added, “Last year Musk said that he would not vote for Biden again and – according to the Times report – he has made clear that defeating the president is a priority.”
Forbes magazine has targeted his net worth at about $200 billion. If he wanted, Elon Musk could give a huge financial advantage to any candidate he wanted, including Trump.
Yet shortly after the pair’s reported meeting, and even though some in Musk’s orbit say he is interested in Biden losing, the billionaire said he won’t be donating to either presidential candidate.
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Despite His Strong Voter Support, Trump’s Cash Has Dropped
The Guardian observed, “Financial disclosures filed last month showed Trump’s cash holdings fell to just over $30m as he waged successful Republican primary campaigns, down from around $33m a month earlier, his campaign said in a report to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).”
Looking at the poll numbers right now, this is Donald Trump’s race to lose.
But money matters. Votes matter. Elon Musk could also matter in a big way, if he were to decide to.
Regardless, it’s sure to be a wild ride into November.
