Congressman Jim Clyburn (D.C.) is concerned about tech billionaire Elon Musk's threat to fund moderate primaries against incumbent Democrats in deep blue districts. He claimed he didn't know a single Democrat who had one.
Mr. Clyburn, a veteran lawmaker, argued Saturday that Democrats can overcome Mr. Musk by defeating the opposition.
“Look, I'm a child of the '60s. I grew up here in South Carolina. Well, I didn't vote yesterday because I took that flag down from the Statehouse dome and Because I was part of celebrating a gentleman of very humble origins who started a movement, uh, to eradicate all of these Confederate emblems, uh, all over the South,'' Clyburn said during an appearance on CNN on Saturday. told.
“We did it with a lot of money. When I was working with John Lewis in the '60s, there was a lot of money and power working against us,” he said. He mentioned John Lewis, a civil rights activist and former congressman. “We did what we had to do. I don't know any Democrats who are afraid of Elon Musk's money because we're going to stand by our voters and outsmart him.”
The South Carolina Democratic Party's comments come just days after Musk, a close ally of President-elect Trump, said he would finance challengers against incumbent Democrats in deep blue areas.
“Oh…I forgot to mention, I’m also going to fund moderate candidates in heavily Democratic districts so the country can get rid of people like this jacka who don’t represent them. Deaf,” Musk said Thursday. Social media platform X.
Musk, along with 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, was selected by President Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which focuses on cutting government spending.
This week, Musk touted his influence over government funding negotiations on Capitol Hill, repeatedly discussing pending legislation in posts on X as a midnight Friday deadline loomed. He helped water down an original bipartisan stopgap spending bill introduced by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) after negotiations with Democrats.
Tesla's CEO will not hesitate to support Trump in the 2024 presidential election, making him the Republican candidate for a second term in the White House, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. spent at least $250 million to support the election of America PAC, a super PAC formed during the 2024 cycle and heavily funded by Musk, also spent money on various House races.
Building America's Future, the underground finance group backed by Musk, spent $23 million last year. According to Recent tax records. The organization is led by Genera Peck and Phil Cox, Republican operatives with ties to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). The group raised $53 million in 2022, according to tax filings.
