How Elon Musk evolved into a Trump surrogate and the bumps he encountered along the way

Musk has increasingly aligned himself with the Trump campaign through votes and appearances at campaign events. Musk’s admiration for former President Donald Trump seemed to begin after the July 13 assassination attempt on the Republican.

“I fully support President Trump and hope for his speedy recovery,” Musk said minutes after Trump’s assassination attempt. He later posted the photo of Trump raising his fist, surrounded by Secret Service agents, with blood dripping from his ear.

Since then, Musk has steadily embraced the Republican presidential candidate. He founded America PAC, which he later funded with $75 million of his own money to support Trump. Musk posted several times on his social media platform – which shows that he is clearly enthusiastic about the card.

Even as Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, Musk maintained his support for Trump despite a strengthened Democratic base.

“Trump will save democracy and America,” he said in an August 26 post. ‘Mark my words. Kamala/Harris would be a disaster.”

Then in October, Musk’s support for Trump took a more physical form.

He appeared at the Republicans’ second rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on October 6, with clear tributes to the assassination attempt on the former president around the site. Musk wore a dark “Make America Great Again” hat and spoke next to Trump on stage.

“We had a president who couldn’t climb stairs and another who was pumping his fists after being shot,” Musk said. “America is the home of the brave, and there is no better test than courage under fire.”

Before Trump’s first assassination attempt, there were rumors that Musk could join the Trump White House as an adviser to the former president, with no doubt that the Tesla CEO would influence the way the government deals with big companies, space travel and other topics.

Musk’s direct involvement with a potential Trump administration has since escalated. Trump now says he will appoint Musk to head a “government efficiency commission” with the aim of further cutting government spending.

That could be part of the reason why Musk is investing in Trump. Or it could be in addition to the billions in government contracts his companies already have.

In a recent controversial effort, Musk’s America PAC unveiled a $1 million giveaway every day until November 5 to any swing state resident who signs a petition in support of the First and Second Amendments. Several people have already won. The petition also offers a much smaller financial incentive to any registered swing-state voter who signs, and money for referring a registered voter to sign.

“All we’re asking for the million dollars is that you be a spokesperson for the petition, and that’s basically it,” Musk said.

Musk has faced fire from those who believe the promotion is illegal. “I believe (Elon) Musk’s offer is probably illegal,” Paul Schiff Berman, Walter S. Cox professor of law at George Washington University, told the BBC. He believes this violates a section of the election law that prohibits paying voters from registering.

Former Federal Election Commission Chairman Brad Smith told the newspaper New York Times he believed it fell into a “gray area.”

Beyond Musk’s promotion, America PAC has boosted the Trump campaign’s ground game in swing states with a huge injection of money into door-knocking and vote-winning initiatives. Musk himself has prioritized Pennsylvania and appears together with Senate candidate Dave McCormick.

There are signs that Musk’s efforts are not perfect: the organization continues to look for employees with days until the election, and there are accusations that some of America PAC’s door-knocking statistics have been inflated.

“It’s probably not 100% as good as they would like it to be or we would like it to be — but it will generate a lot of additional coverage regardless,” a senior Trump campaign official told the newspaper. Christian Science Monitor. “Any time you hire a lot of people (quickly) and cover a lot of ground, you’re going to find a little bit of crap, a little bit of poor performance. But it is on the margins.”

If these efforts fail and Trump does not win, Musk has suggested he will face consequences.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINATOR

“If he loses, I suck,” Musk told Tucker Carlson in an interview broadcast on X.

“How long do you think my prison sentence will last?” he said. ‘Will I see my children? Don’t know.”