Elon Musk is said to donate 45 million to Donald Trump every month. That was reported by the media. Now Musk has contradicted that. But only in part.
It would have been a gigantic boost for Donald Trump’s campaign coffers: Elon Musk would donate $45 million to the Republican presidential candidate every month, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing insiders. In a recent interview, Musk made it clear that this is not true. But that does not mean that Trump does not benefit from his money.
The clarification was part of a conversation Musk had with controversial psychologist and influencer Jordan B. Peterson. Peterson asked Musk if he was “shocked” that he was now supporting Trump with millions. “Would you have thought that was possible five years ago?” Musk did not want to leave it at that. “The media reports are simply not true,” he explained. “I am not donating $45 million a month to Trump.”
Elon Musk explains donations to Donald Trump
If you look more closely, however, he denies neither donating this amount nor supporting Trump. “I founded a PAC, the America PAC,” Musk said. The term, an abbreviation for Political Action Committee, refers to donation organizations that support political campaigns. While direct donations to candidates in the USA are significantly limited, the organizations are allowed to accumulate practically unlimited amounts of money.
Musk does not deny that he is donating millions or that they are supporting Trump – only that the sums go directly to the candidate. “It simply allows us to have larger sums of money in the system,” he explains. “And they are used on both sides, not just for either Republicans or Democrats.”
Musk relies on the Republicans
Musk makes no secret of who he prefers and currently supports. “You have a choice between administrations – and you have to choose one.” Both sides are not without flaws, he explains. “But today – strangely enough – the Republican Party is the one that stands for the value of meritocracy, while the Democrats stand for quotas.” In Musk’s view, meritocracy, the idea that you can get to the top through your own efforts, is the most important value of American society. With quotas for women and minorities, the Democrats contradict this value. “That’s just another form of racism and sexism,” he accuses them. “When you weigh things up, I ultimately believe that a Republican administration is the better choice.”
The fact that he is supporting a candidate like Donald Trump, who is often criticized as sexist and racist, is apparently not a contradiction for Musk. Quite the opposite. “America needs a strong leader right now,” he believes. “You just have to admire the fact that Trump, after being shot, stood up with blood on his face and called for a fight. There could have been a second shooter. That is courageous,” Musk expresses his admiration. “That is instinctive courage, not planned courage. That is courage that comes from the moment.” He had just explained that he actually supports the party and not Trump personally. “I don’t believe in personality cults,” Musk had explicitly emphasized.
Trump brags about Musk’s millions
Trump has not yet made this distinction. “Elon is now supporting me with $45 million a month. Not a one-time payment, monthly,” he boasted at a campaign event in Michigan on Sunday. “He didn’t even tell me that when we last saw each other. Others want to take people out to dinner for two dollars,” he joked. Musk must have liked the introduction to the anecdote anyway. “We have to make sure that our smart people are doing well,” Trump emphasized in reference to Musk. “And he is one of the smartest we have.”
Sources:Jordan B. PetersonEconomic Times
