The relationship between these two men was definitely not love at first sight. In fact, not so long ago, they didn’t like each other very much, according to the BBC.
“I hate this man,” 2022 July on Twitter wrote US entrepreneur Elon Musk, owner of “X”.
E. Musk’s comment was prompted by the insult of former US President Donald Trump – he called E. Musk a liar. Trump accused Musk of lying to him about who he voted for in the last presidential election.
“Elon (Musk – aut.post) is not going to buy Twitter,” Trump shouted to a rallying crowd in Alaska.
Of course, Musk bought Twitter a few months later — and continued to support Trump’s Republican challenger, Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor even kicked off his presidential campaign with a disturbing rant on Twitter.
However, over the past few months, the relationship between E. Musk and D. Trump has not only warmed, but also become friendly and stable.
Both men had hoped before the interview that the conversation would reach a wider audience than just the active paying users who dominate X discussions these days. And that it won’t have the technical glitches that marred DeSantis’ failed campaign.
The relationship between the tech mogul and the Republican candidate has been brewing for some time.
From blue to red
Born in the Republic of South Africa in 2002. E. Musk, who became a US citizen, has said that he voted almost exclusively for Democrats for decades.
But he has grown frustrated with President Biden on issues such as unions. Musk has resisted efforts to organize his auto industry workers because he was opposed to unionization.
He was not invited to 2021. White House summit on electric vehicles, even though Tesla, which he owns, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electric vehicles.
Under the Biden administration, Musk-owned companies have also faced several federal investigations into hiring practices, the Twitter hack and claims about Tesla’s Autopilot feature.
in 2023 in an interview with a New York Times reporter in November, he said he would not vote for Mr. Biden again, but also stopped supporting Mr. Trump, saying “it’s a really hard choice.”
After acquiring the company, Musk unbanned the former president’s Twitter account.
Perhaps more importantly, his tenure at the company has drawn him increasingly into issues that dovetail nicely with Trump’s campaign: government censorship and harassment, complaints about the media, opposition to immigration and anger over anti-discrimination ideas.
“He craves attention and is a political chameleon,” said Ryan Broderick of the Internet culture newsletter Garbage Day.
According to Broderick, a few years ago Musk’s online posts changed dramatically.
“About 2018 he was writing neoliberal, happy-go-lucky stuff, pride flags, etc., and then he changed quite drastically,” he said.
Since taking over Twitter, Musk has become increasingly involved in political controversies and spreading inflammatory and sometimes false news.
During the recent riots in the United Kingdom, he sparred with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, claiming “civil war is inevitable” and sharing a false report about “prison camps” in the Falkland Islands.
He also gave credence to Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that election fraud is rife in the US.
Musk tried to sue the Center to Combat Digital Hate (CCDH), but the case was dismissed earlier this year. An investigation by the organization noted that so far this year, Musk has made “X” false or misleading claims about the election 50 times.
In addition, he regularly engages with extreme, far-right activists and pro-Trump accounts on his platform, amplifying their reach.
Trump’s tech fans
At the time, E. Musk’s connections in Silicon Valley connected him with D. Trump’s relatives.
Mr. Musk was part of the so-called PayPal mafia, the interested parties who amassed a fortune when the $1.5 billion dollars was bought a payment processor and later became productive investors and founders of companies.
PayPal founder Peter Thiel is an influential Republican who later recruited JD Vance to his venture capital firm, Mithril Capital Management. Later, 10 million dollars funded his Ohio Senate campaign.
March E. Musk met with D. Trump at his resort in Florida. A couple of months later, Mr. Musk hosted an “anti-Biden” dinner whose guests, according to US news reports, included Mr. Thiel and Rupert Murdoch.
Musk has previously donated money to both Democratic and Republican politicians. But while he insists he doesn’t donate directly to any presidential campaign, he recently co-founded America PAC, a political action committee that supports Trump.
Political action committees have the power to spend huge sums of money to support candidates and initiatives, though Musk said reports that he would be giving away $45 million each month. dollars to the PAC, are exaggerated.
Still, his support for Trump was fully assured just minutes after last month’s assassination attempt on the former president, when he wrote to X: “I fully support President Trump and hope he gets well soon.”
For his part, Mr. Trump appears to have developed a relationship with Mr. Musk.
At a news conference Thursday, Trump said, “I’m very happy. I have a lot of respect for Elon. He respects me.”
“Elon more than almost anybody I know … he loves this country, he loves the concept of this country, but he says, like me, that this country is in deep trouble, in deep danger,” Trump said. .
Musk has become a hero to young, mostly male supporters who may share Trump’s ideas but are reportedly less reliable voters.
Trump’s campaign seems to be trying to win over this segment of society. For example, the former president recently interviewed “sharp-tongued” podcaster Adin Ross, who has been repeatedly banned from the streaming site Twitch for violating the site’s rules of conduct.
“Donald Trump is spinning his head because he’s looking for a way to reinvigorate his campaign,” Broderick mused. “He’s a showman and he understands that Elon Musk has similar instincts.”
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2024-08-13 15:27:36