Trump’s Support: Features of Elon Musk’s Increasing Role in the American Presidential Elections

Recently, the political involvement of Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has become more prominent in American politics. He is keen to demonstrate his strong support for the former president and current Republican candidate Donald Trump returning to the White House, warning voters against supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he believes would significantly harm the American economy and the United States as a whole. Notably, Musk’s position towards Trump changed in the summer of 2024; he had previously criticized Trump multiple times, including in 2022 when he described him as an “old man” unfit for candidacy. Trump himself had mocked Musk in the past, but their relationship has recently shifted, with each showing support for the other.

A Political Rise

There are several factors indicating Elon Musk’s efforts to play a clear role in the upcoming American presidential elections set for November 5. The following highlights the most significant of these factors:

Attendance at Trump’s Campaign Events: Musk has appeared alongside Trump on multiple occasions, emphasizing his support for him. For instance, at a Trump campaign event in Pennsylvania, Musk was seen next to Trump wearing a Trump campaign hat. He plans to dedicate the remaining days to further promote Trump in swing states that represent key battlegrounds in the election, potentially guiding the electoral indicators towards Trump.

Using X Platform to Promote Trump: Musk is leveraging his significant influence on his platform, X (formerly Twitter), to extensively promote Trump. His personal account has around 200 million followers, and he reinstated Trump’s personal account on the platform in 2022 after it had been suspended. He also deletes posts that may harm Trump’s campaign, such as those by journalist Ken Klippenstein about Trump’s vice presidential candidate, JD Vance, detailing a compendium of information allegedly leaked by Iran from Trump’s campaign.

Making Large Donations to Trump’s Campaign: Musk is financially supporting Trump’s election campaign by funding a political action committee related to Trump. Over the past three months, Musk has donated up to $75 million to this committee. Alongside this direct personal donation to Trump, he encourages voters through X to contribute to the former president’s Republican campaign. Musk is also donating to right-wing groups focused on gathering evidence related to allegations of the 2020 American election fraud, which may bolster Trump’s ongoing campaign, criticized by some political advisors who believe that the Democratic candidate’s campaign is more robust due to paid staff.

Attacking Vice President Harris: Through his platform X, Musk has shared a series of AI-generated images of Harris, as well as a deepfake video dated July 26, 2024, in which Harris says about Biden, “I spent four years under the thumb of a puppet of the deep state, who is a great teacher.” This video sparked widespread criticism, prompting Harris to clarify afterward that both the images and the video are fake. Furthermore, Musk has been critical of the administration of current President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris, whom he views as a continuation of the current Democratic policies.

Supporting Trump’s Ideas on Transgender Issues: Reflecting Trump’s views on transgender issues, and his refusal to “allocate federal funding for schools teaching transgender matters,” Musk has shown similar sentiments toward transgender American groups, especially after disowning his son who transitioned to female, and financing anti-transgender advertisements amounting to millions of dollars in 2022. These steps could enhance support among conservative communities that oppose LGBTQ+ ideologies, which Democrats use in their electoral agendas to attract liberal and progressive voters.

Promoting the Idea of Musk in Trump’s Administration: Musk and Trump share a mutual disdain for regulatory agencies within the United States, which could influence federal agencies if Trump wins. Musk and Trump suggest that Musk would be an integral part of Trump’s administration if he returns to the White House, focusing on technological matters and promoting innovation and competitiveness within the United States, thereby potentially diminishing the authority of federal institutions.

Various Implications

Musk’s presence in the current election process is expected to have several implications, particularly as he exerts genuine efforts to influence the election outcome in favor of Trump. The following outlines some of these implications:

Attracting More Business Leaders to Support Trump: Musk is remarkably popular both within the United States and abroad due to his extensive work in technology, which could positively reflect on Trump. This popularity may help attract more business leaders, especially those in the technology sector in Silicon Valley, thus strengthening Trump’s position in the upcoming elections.

Leveraging Musk’s Financial Power for Trump: Musk’s substantial financial influence is anticipated to positively benefit Trump. Musk dominates a significant portion of the technology infrastructure industry, from satellite launches for communications to space ventures, along with his vast economic empire. It is well-known that political money can profoundly impact any election process.

Contributing to the Spread of Misinformation: Musk is accused of being a major contributor to misinformation that negatively impacts the American electoral landscape. He employs the tool “Grok,” which creates misleading images using artificial intelligence, shared by accounts alleged to be right-wing that amplify political disinformation, potentially affecting American voters’ thoughts and inclinations, particularly those who trust Musk significantly.

Politicizing Social Media Platforms: Just as Democrats previously pressured Twitter to suspend Trump’s account over incendiary tweets or sought to control what is shared on Facebook, Musk’s intervention on X—by deleting certain posts while allowing others—could contribute in some manner to the politicization of social media platforms that were once instrumental in enhancing global freedom and democracy. Musk has rejected the standards applied by other platforms like Facebook, insisting on giving individuals the freedom to publish what they wish. Upon acquiring the platform, he refused to remove stories related to Hunter Biden’s laptop scandal first reported by the New York Post, and he “fired the team responsible for combating misleading content.” Thus, the potential for politicization may be weak unless Musk’s views shift later on and he alters publishing standards on the platform.

Impact on Elon Musk’s Reputation: Some political experts suggest that Musk’s intervention to support Trump, who has been accused of fascism and authoritarianism and of attempting to negatively influence American democracy, could adversely affect Musk’s reputation, which has been favorable among Americans for his support of technology and innovation. Musk tends to engage deeply in American politics without restraint, which could harm his economic empire in the long run as it creates a group of political adversaries for him.

Diverse Interconnections

In conclusion, although Musk provides significant support to Trump in this election, it remains unclear how much this support will impact Trump’s chances of winning, particularly given the interplay and complexities of the current American electoral environment, as well as various pressing issues on voters’ minds.

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SAKHRI Mohamed
SAKHRI Mohamed

I hold a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Relations in addition to a Master's degree in International Security Studies. Alongside this, I have a passion for web development. During my studies, I acquired a strong understanding of fundamental political concepts and theories in international relations, security studies, and strategic studies.

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