There's been another major plot twist in the 2024 election saga, as Elon Musk has made a "sizable donation" to a super PAC working to return Donald Trump to the White House.
Completing something of a Black Friday for Democrats, the story broke just hours after the New York Times reported that major donors had frozen $90 million pledged donations commitments to Biden's top super PAC, having concluded that Biden is a dead man walking -- politically if not otherwise. The news comes four months after Musk said he was staying on the sidelines:
Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2024
The world's richest man clearly had a change of heart: Citing anonymous sources "close to the matter," Bloomberg on Friday evening broke the potentially game-changing news that Musk had given money to America PAC, which is largely focused on "ground-game" initiatives, such as voter-canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts. Among the constellation of Trump-backing groups, America PAC is spending the most money of any of them on direct voter outreach.
The amount of Musk's donation wasn't disclosed, but Bloomberg said sources "characterized the figure as a sizable amount." Per Federal Election Commission rules, the PAC will provide its updated list of donors on Monday. While super PACs aren't allowed to contribute directly to candidates or parties, or "coordinate" their efforts, they can collect unlimited contributions.
Elon Musk just donated to Donald Trump.
— Liberacrat Media™️ (@Liberacrat) July 12, 2024
LET. THAT. SINK. IN. pic.twitter.com/IWJpdbrkSe
With a Forbes-estimated net worth of $250 billion, Musk has obvious potential to fundamentally alter a fundraising war in which Democrats were already reeling from the mushrooming effects of President Biden's disastrous performance in his June 27 debate with Trump, his poor interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos and gaffe-filled NATO summit press events on Thursday.
The donation seemingly completes a political metamorphosis: Musk has said he voted for Barack Obama, gave money to and voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and voted for Joe Biden in 2020.
However, Musk has displayed growing discontent with Democrats' approach to a variety of issues. One of them is border control: Earlier this year, Musk told an audience that "unvetted immigration at large scale is a recipe for disaster." He's also called out Democrats' opposition to photo-ID requirements for voting, saying the "far left" wants to make it "impossible to prove voter fraud." Over the weekend, he expressed dismay at Biden's commitment to veto a bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote.
I strongly supported Obama for President, but today’s Democratic Party has been hijacked by extremists
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2022
In 2022, Musk tweeted that he voted for a Republican for the first time, backing Texas Republican Mayra Flores in a special US House election. Last month, Musk told Tesla shareholders that he's "had some conversations with [Trump], and he does call me, out of the blue, for no reason... I don't know why, but he does."
In what may be a more potent motivator than policy issues, Musk repeatedly finds himself in the crosshairs of Democrats' weaponized government, with a federal target on his back since buying Twitter in 2022 with a goal of ridding it of its leftist, government-serving censorship regime.
Within two weeks of Musk closing on the purchase, Biden told reporters that "Elon Musk's cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at. Whether he is doing anything inappropriate, I'm not suggesting that. I'm suggesting they're worth being looked at." With an ominously whimsical tone, he concluded, "there's a lot of ways..."
Many people were surprised when I said Biden wanted to charge Elon Musk criminally. Let me give a refresher.
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) July 13, 2024
It all started when Musk bought Twitter. Biden responded by saying that Musk was "worth being looked" at "whether or not he's doing anything inappropriate".
When asked… pic.twitter.com/TizCxnWQLr
Summarizing the breadth of the attacks at The Hill in December, Liz Peek said Musk and his companies were under investigation by the Department of Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Not surprising if true, as the Biden administration wants to arrest and charge Musk as a criminal.
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) July 12, 2024
As much as people hate Trump, Musk has a right to self-defense by supporting the Republican ticket. https://t.co/Z3IXRn2Yz7
Musk has expressed concern over Trump's own victimization via politically-motivated lawfare, as he did in May when the former president was convicted in New York on mindbendingly-contrived charges relating to his 2016 funding of hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, who'd claimed the two had a one-night intimate encounter in 2006.
Indeed, great damage was done today to the public’s faith in the American legal system.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2024
If a former President can be criminally convicted over such a trivial matter – motivated by politics, rather than justice – then anyone is at risk of a similar fate. https://t.co/zrHCyIZazh
The Trump campaign's financial fortunes changed dramatically after that conviction, as irate sympathizers expressed their outrage with dollars, vaulting him into the lead. Musk's entry into the game exacerbates Democrats' dire situation, and is certain to accelerate efforts to jettison Biden from the top of the ticket...while exponentially increasing the anguish of leftists who thought things couldn't possibly get any worse.
Incoming Liberal Meltdown 🤣😂pic.twitter.com/CXE4WLRpwH
— Donna Marie (@sabback) July 13, 2024