WASHINGTON (AP) – Next week’s presidential election is more than just a referendum. donald trump and kamala harris. It’s also a measure of the influence the world’s richest man has on American democracy.
Elon MuskThe South African-born technology and business giant spent at least $119 million mobilizing Trump supporters to support the Republican candidate. His social media platform “X” has become a fire hydrant for pro-Trump propaganda. And he’s taking center stage at Trump-style rallies in key battleground states.
Meanwhile, the scrutiny on him has become increasingly strict. he skipped the hearing In a lawsuit Thursday over his efforts to donate millions of dollars to registered voters, legal experts likened the donations to vote-buying. He is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. and wall street journal It was recently reported that Musk is in regular contact with the Russian president. Vladimir PutinHis aerospace company, SpaceX, has billions of dollars worth of contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense, making him a potential national security risk.
Mr. Musk is not the only person whose vast wealth has strengthened his ties to politics, business, and foreign policy. But few people have publicly campaigned for a single candidate as much as Mr. Musk. Mr. Musk’s expanding business relationships and growing bravado are troubling tests of the political power of an unelected man. His stature is perhaps one of the most tangible results of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which removed many restrictions on political donations.
“This is definitely an election brought about by Citizens United,” said Daniel I. Weiner, director of elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice, adding that the phenomenon was bigger than Musk alone. “What this means in practice is to transform our campaign finance system into one where our wealthiest donors play a central role.”
Musk did not respond to requests for comment through his lawyer. Tesla, his electric car company, and X did not respond to inquiries. In a statement, SpaceX disputed some of the Journal’s reporting and said it continues to “work closely with the U.S. government.”
Musk’s recent turn to “Dark MAGA”
Musk has recently turned into a self-proclaimed “Dark Maga” Trump warrior. In the past, he has made small donations to both Republicans and Democrats, including Hillary Clinton According to records, in 2016. He had not contributed to Mr. Trump’s political activities until this year, according to federal campaign finance disclosures.
Once he did it, he had it all.
Musk currently heads America PAC, the superpolitical action committee that is spearheading Trump’s vote-getting efforts.
As a newcomer to the political world, growing pains continue.
Over the summer, America PAC struggled to meet its voter contact goals. Musk has brought in a new team of political consultants, Genera Peck and Phil Cox, who both worked on policy for Florida’s governor. Ron DeSantis He lost the Republican presidential primary.
On paper, the numbers have improved. But Republican officials, operatives and activists say it’s difficult to tell how active the PAC’s ground operations have been in some key locations.
The PAC’s presence is not felt in rural Georgia, according to three Republican strategists closely monitoring the battleground battle in the battleground state. For example, America PAC has shown little evidence that voters leave documents on their doorsteps when they are not at home, especially in remote areas, as is common, the three people said.
What you need to know about the 2024 election
There are also signs that Musk, the tech innovator, is being used in his own game. In Nevada, hired recruiters paid tech-savvy operatives to digitally manipulate an app to track progress, according to three other people familiar with AmericaPAC’s efforts. It appears that the data was falsified in order to get paid for work they did not do. Recruiters are usually paid based on the number of doors they knock.
There are indications that this practice is not limited to Nevada. Two people familiar with the matter said a person warned America PAC leadership several weeks ago that a review of data from multiple states showed signs of falsification, but their concerns were ignored. It is said that it was done.
The people, like others who have provided details about Musk’s political activities, insisted on discussing the matter anonymously for fear of retaliation.
Musk is frustrated with PAC
Dissatisfied with the inner workings of his political organization, Mr. Musk brought in private-sector figures, including Steve Davis, president of Mr. Musk’s tunnel construction company Boring, according to three people familiar with the move. . Davis’ role at America PAC was previously reported new york times.
People close to PAC disputed that the group was used, suggesting it was a conspiracy theory based on a poor understanding of how political lobbying works. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss internal affairs of the PAC.
PAC leadership is not Musk’s only political stumbling block.
On Monday, Philadelphia’s district attorney filed a lawsuit The move is to cancel Musk’s $1 million cash sweepstakes, part of America’s PAC’s efforts to drum up support for Trump. Musk had promised to donate $1 million a day until the election to voters in battleground states who signed petitions supporting the Constitution. Legal experts warned that the contest was illegal and likely veered into vote-buying territory because participants had to register to vote to win prizes.
Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner’s lawsuit alleges the giveaway amounts to an illegal lottery ticket. A state judge put the case on hold Thursday while a federal court considers the case. The Department of Justice sent a warning letter to America PAC stating that the giveaways may violate election laws.
Musk wants to do more with the election than just bragging.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the main regulator of Tesla, has repeatedly proven to be a thorn in the side of Mr. Musk’s electric car maker and a major source of his wealth. The agency has overseen more than a dozen recalls, including one that Tesla resisted. It also launched an investigation that casts doubt on Mr. Musk’s claims that Tesla is close to achieving self-driving cars, a key shareholder expectation and a major driver of Tesla’s soaring stock price.
Tesla revealed earlier this year that the Department of Justice and SEC had subpoenaed it, demanding information about its “full self-driving” capabilities, vehicle features, data privacy, and more.
Social media platform X is another Musk company that has attracted the attention of the Biden administration. The Federal Trade Commission investigated Musk’s handling of sensitive consumer data after he took control of the company in 2022, but has not taken enforcement action. The SEC is investigating Musk’s acquisition of a social media company.
Mr. Musk has been adamant about his political views on the platform, changing its rules, content moderation systems and algorithms to fit his worldview. Since Musk endorsed Trump last summer in the wake of an attempt on the former president’s life, the platform has turned into a megaphone for the Trump campaign, raising unprecedented levels of demand that make it nearly impossible to calculate its value. Provided free advertising.
Many of Musk’s problems are the president’s fault. joe biden If President Trump is elected, Democratic supporters may disappear. The former president believed Musk could play a formal role in a future Trump administration that emphasizes government efficiency, but given Musk’s extensive business dealings with the government, this is unlikely. would be a huge conflict of interest.
Mr. Musk has also offered to help develop national safety standards for self-driving cars, and auto safety groups fear he could interfere with the Tesla investigation.
“Of course the fox wants to build a chicken coop,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety Watch.
Why there is concern about the contact between Mr. Musk and Mr. Putin
That’s why the revelation that Mr. Musk was in regular contact with Mr. Putin is so troubling to foreign policy experts. The Department of Defense and NASA rely heavily on SpaceX to launch reconnaissance satellites and fly astronauts into space. However, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Putin told Musk during a meeting that he would not activate SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is said that he asked for it. Russia denied that the conversation took place.
The aerospace company said in a statement posted to said.
“Starlink is not available there because Taiwan has not granted it permission to operate,” the statement said. “This has nothing to do with Russia or China.”
National security experts say the revelations about Mr. Musk’s interactions with Mr. Putin remain alarming.
Putin is “a war criminal who is massacring civilians. In my view, this is wrong,” former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told The Associated Press last week. “You have to decide which team you want to be on. Are you part of the American team or the Russian team?”
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Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa, and Krisher reported from Detroit. Associated Press writers Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, Barbara Ortutei in San Francisco and Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
