Following reports that Elon Musk recently visited Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the embattled Twitter CEO wants to set the record straight: He’s not giving money to anybody.
Trump’s finances have taken a sizable hit thanks to massive back-to-back judgments against him in the E. Jean Carroll and Manhattan fraud cases. His recent visit from Musk suggesting that maybe the world’s second richest man would help out the former president as the Tesla CEO has shown an increasingly right-ward slant in his politics.
Most recently, Musk has been blasting Joe Biden over the “border crisis.” However, Musk has no intention of cutting checks as the presidential election narrows down to Biden and Trump.
“Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President,” Musk tweeted.
Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2024
Of course, Musk’s refusal to make political donations could have less to do with his principles and more to do with Twitter hemorrhaging revenue as advertisers flee the platform. The social media site is reportedly worth less than 70% of what Musk paid for it thanks to a string of controversial decisions that sparked the aforementioned advertising exodus.
There’s also the possibility that Musk’s statement isn’t exactly as cut and dried as it seems. Users flocked to his replies to note that he could technically donate to Super PACs, which would not be a direct donation to Biden or Trump.
would you give to a super PAC that supports either candidate?
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 6, 2024
Will you donate money to political action committees or campaign committees, as you have the past? https://t.co/BmZS18ohyW pic.twitter.com/FkKWVhrPtE
— Alex Howard (@digiphile) March 6, 2024
Ok great! Are you donating to any of Donald Trump’s super PACs? Be transparent Elon!
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) March 6, 2024
Does that include loans to either candidate?
— Andrew C Laufer, Esq (@lauferlaw) March 6, 2024
Reporter Luke Zalenski took things even further by noting that Musk was already donating to Trump by virtue of turning Twitter into a MAGA playground.
“This site is an in-kind contribution to Trump,” Zalenski wrote, “and has been since you bought it and reinstated him and his army of election-and-vaccine denying propagandists and platformed and promoted their conspiracies and disinformation and pretended it was because the woke mind virus made you.”
This site is an in-kind contribution to Trump and has been since you bought it and reinstated him and his army of election-and-vaccine denying propagandists and platformed and promoted their conspiracies and disinformation and pretended it was because the woke mind virus made you
— Luke Zaleski (@ZaleskiLuke) March 6, 2024
(Via Elon Musk on Twitter, Mediaite)