Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) on Thursday praised tech billionaire Elon Musk and his career, but acknowledged they don't always see eye to eye on political issues.
“I respect Mr. Musk. He's been involved in some very important parts of American society, including AI and SpaceX,” Fetterman told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday.
“Yes, he's on a different team, but that doesn't make me an enemy,” he continued. “I don't… [am not] You will automatically become a critic. ”
“It's like, 'Hey, he's made our economy and our country better,'” the Pennsylvania Democrat added. And our politics are different and I don't agree with some of the things he might say, but that doesn't make him an enemy like I said. ”
Musk responded to Fetterman's comments on Thursday. in post on the social platform X he owns.
“It's hard not to like @SenFettermanPA. He puts country before party,” he wrote.
The senator's comments came after Musk was nominated by President-elect Trump to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Fetterman said earlier this year that the SpaceX CEO, who has been a staunch Trump ally and toiled for Trump on the campaign trail, appealed to a demographic that Democrats have a hard time empathizing with. .
“Most endorsements don't matter that much in this industry, but Mr. Musk…is incredibly popular and appeals to a demographic that Democrats have struggled with,” Fetterman told NewsNation in October. He spoke during an appearance on “The Hill Sunday.''
“Some people look at him as, 'That's Tony Stark,'” he added. “He's the richest man in the world and definitely a brilliant man.”
Mr. Fetterman has shown time and time again that he is willing to criticize his own party on issues. Recently, Trump has shown a willingness to approve some Cabinet nominees when he returns to the White House in January. Among them is Mehmet Oz, a Republican who won the general election for a Pennsylvania state Senate seat.
He also supports pardoning the president-elect, who was convicted of hush money charges in New York, after President Biden announced he would pardon his own son, Hunter Biden.
