Billionaire Elon Musk endorsed former President Trump’s campaign following the assassination attempt at a rally on Saturday, marking a turning point for Musk and his recent political shift to the right.
“I fully support President Trump and wish him a speedy recovery,” Musk wrote in a post on his social platform X, alongside a video of the former president standing and pumping his fist after being shot in the ear.
Since his initial endorsement on Saturday, Musk has posted and reposted dozens of pro-Trump posts on X.
The tech billionaire, who owns Tesla and SpaceX as well as the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has clashed with President Biden in recent years and has signaled he would support the Republican candidate. Musk said on X: “Until a few years ago, I voted 100 percent Democrat,” he said, but “now I think we need a red wave or America is finished.”
Musk has increasingly criticized Democratic policies, including efforts at diversity, equity and inclusion, Biden’s support for labor unions and his approach to immigration and the border.
After Musk bought Twitter Inc. (now TwitterX) for roughly $44 billion in 2022, he dismantled certain content moderation practices on the platform, promoting a system purportedly designed to promote free speech and re-granting access to users, including President Trump and other right-wing influencers, who had been banned for violating the platform’s previous policies.
The changes have been driven primarily by conservatives, who accuse social media platforms of censoring right-wing views.
Musk has appeared to grow closer to Trump in recent months, Wall Street Journal report In late May, the billionaire and the former president reportedly discussed a possible advisory role for Musk in a second Trump administration.
The day before the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was injured, Bloomberg also reported that Musk donated an undisclosed amount to America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC.
The tech billionaire had previously vowed not to donate to either Biden or Trump as they face off again in the November election.
“Just to be clear, I have not donated to either candidate for President of the United States,” Musk wrote to X in March.
“I’m going to voice my opinion, but I don’t want to do anything that will have major financial repercussions,” he also told former CNN anchor Don Lemon in an interview a few weeks later.
Other business leaders have also backed Trump in the wake of the shooting, with Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman backing the former president on Saturday.
