How Elon Musk’s endorsement of Trump may have backfired
Elon Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump was meant to buoy the candidate’s chances. But Democrats have zeroed in on the pairing.
Elon Musk’s endorsement of former President Donald Trump was meant to buoy the candidate’s chances in November. But more than a month after Musk officially put his weight behind Trump, a series of Democratic attacks have suggested that the endorsement has exposed a vulnerability.
Since the tech billionaire endorsed Trump on July 13, the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly attacked Musk for his anti-worker stances. The campaign has called Musk and Trump “self-obsessed rich guys” and reposted audio from an event on Musk’s social media app, X, in which the two laugh together about firing striking workers.
Harris allies including Shawn Fain, the president of the United Auto Workers, have followed up with attacks of their own, and now some Democratic strategists look eager to keep highlighting the Musk-Trump alliance, which they see as reinforcing Trump’s weak points.
“Every time that Elon Musk tries to do something to help Donald Trump, I think it fires up the Democratic base to work against him,” said Pete Giangreco, a Democratic strategist based in Chicago.
“If you’ve got a billionaire helping out someone who says he’s a billionaire, but really isn’t, what does that really get you?” he said.
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