Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to attend a rally for former President Donald Trump in battleground Pennsylvania this weekend, when he returns to the scene where the former president survived his first assassination attempt.
Musk: “I'm going to support it'' I wrote In a post late Thursday on social platform X, which he acquired in 2022.
Trump's campaign announced last week that he would return to Butler, Pennsylvania, months after he was grazed in the ear by a bullet while campaigning in July. The gunman and one protester were killed and two others injured in the attack, which came just days before the Republican National Convention, where he will become the official Republican nominee.
“President Trump's return to Butler will be a tribute to the American spirit. America does not allow monsters like that evil assassin to have the final say,” the campaign said in a release. He said that President Trump's survival was “recognized by the world as an act of divine providence.”
Mr. Musk has increasingly moved into political discussions, endorsing Mr. Trump in July after the shooting. The tech entrepreneur helped launch America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC that has been running some of the Republican vote-getting efforts in key battleground states.
According to recent media reports, the CEOs of Tesla and SpaceX have donated millions of dollars to Republican causes as early as 2022. According to the Wall Street Journal, he reportedly donated $50 million to Citizens for Sanity, an organization associated with Trump adviser Stephen Miller.
Musk also donated $10 million to support Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential bid, which he postponed until the end of January. In 2022, it also gave money to the Republican organization Building America's Future.
Some political strategists on both sides argue that Mr. Musk's increased political activity, especially online, could be an asset to Republican candidates in the 2024 election, making Mr. Musk an asset to right-wing views. He characterized it as a “megaphone”. The former president was even floated for a cabinet position if elected in November.
The shooting in Pennsylvania was just one of two assassination threats the former president faced during this campaign.
Last month, a suspect was arrested after Secret Service agents saw a man draw a rifle around President Trump's Florida golf course. The man, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, was later arrested and charged with federal gun crimes.
