Following the attempted assassination on Saturday, billionaire businessman Elon Musk and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman officially endorsed Donald Trump for president in the approaching U.S. election.
Following the shooting, Elon Musk, the CEO of several companies, including the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and the rocket manufacturer SpaceX, posted a flurry of remarks on his social media site X. These remarks included criticism of the Secret Service and support for the former president.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote in one post, attaching a video of Trump being whisked off stage following the attempt. In a subsequent post he said, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
The two endorsements are victories for Trump since they include individuals with enormous financial and social media influence as well as commercial acumen.
Musk had previously expressed his discontent with Democratic President Biden and has grown closer to Republican President Trump in recent months. However, the remarks he made on Saturday were his clearest public endorsement of Trump’s campaign for reelection. Additionally, he said, “You’re right,” in response to a user’s remark suggesting that Trump should select U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R., Ohio), for vice president.
Musk also reportedly made a financial donation to a group working to elect former President Donald Trump, according to a Friday report.
While Musk has not publicly endorsed a candidate for the 2024 election, he has become increasingly vocal about politics on X.
In the months before the election, Musk was critical of President Biden’s immigration policies on X, which clearly aligned with conservative viewpoints.
In September, for instance, he visited the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, after which he declared that the “situation is beyond insane and growing fast.” And he’s been critical of President Joe Biden and his administration following the brutal murder of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant.
“Dems won’t deport, because every illegal is a highly likely vote at some point,” Musk wrote on his X platform. “That simple incentive explains what seems to be insane behavior. It has become so brazen that a gang of illegals can beat up police officers on camera in Times Square, get out of jail for free and *still* not get deported!”
Earlier, Musk announced on X that he would not be donating to either candidate. “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President,” he wrote.
Musk’s reported donation coincides with Make America Great Again Inc., a leading super PAC, announcing an impressive $104 million fundraising haul during the April-June second quarter of 2024 for Trump’s campaign.
Following last month’s debate between Trump and Biden, Musk seemed to suggest that it was merely political theater. Shortly after the debate, Musk shared his thoughts on the X platform in response to a post from billionaire venture capitalist David Sacks.
Sacks had commented, “Watching the CNN commentators put the knife in Biden’s back is actually sickening. No loyalty. No remorse. It’s just gross.” Musk responded: “They’re just talking puppets. It was a setup for a switch.”
University of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato, during a CNN segment on Friday, stated that the race between Biden and Trump is “no longer close.” He dismissed the idea that Biden could make up much ground through an interview with ABC News or some rallies to tighten the gap.
“I don’t think [President Biden] can change the dynamic with one interview,” he said. “I suppose you’d say stop the bleeding and the bleeding has been bad. I mean, we’ve been looking at all the data coming in, all the surveys — some public, some private — and it’s bad. Democrats need to understand that things are not stable and it is no longer close. The race between Biden and Trump is no longer close.”
“Just take the four last week, including CNN’s poll — all of them were in agreement, which you rarely see even with well-conducted polls: Biden, who was really maybe even, maybe two points behind Trump, is now — at least in unison in these polls — six points behind,” Sabato added. “That’s millions and millions of voters. And what is it that’s going to restore them? A good interview, a good rally? Come on.”
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Meanwhile, Biden has declared that he is staying in the presidential race against Trump, but that does not appear to be what voters want.
A Rasmussen Reports poll shared on Friday is disastrous news for both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The poll showed that 55 percent of those asked want the president to withdraw from the presidential election. Another 50 percent said that Democrats should pick someone new, not Harris, as his replacement.
“Importantly, nearly half (48%) of Democratic voters at least somewhat agree that Biden should step aside and let the Democratic Party choose another candidate,” the poll said.
Another poll, from Cygnal, was also tragic news for the Democrats as voters scorched the president’s debate performance and showed no confidence in the vice president.
“Post-debate, we’ve seen the largest single month-over-month movement towards Republicans across-the-board, from R+0 to R+4, in the history of our national polling,” Cygnal President Brent Buchanan said. “President Biden’s image worsened to 62% having an unfavorable view of him after 67% of respondents said they watched his disastrous debate performance.”
“Trump’s performance earned him 4 points of undecided debate-watchers and another 3 points from those who were Biden supporters heading into the debate. There’s little question this has further eroded the political environment for Democrats,” he said.
