With the iron broom

Elon Musk wants to be at the top of the Trump comeback game

Musk has pumped tens of millions of dollars into the ex-president's election campaign and has been chosen by him to sweep with an iron broom in a future government.

(Bild: AP)

At Donald Trump's campaign event in the small town of Butler, Elon Musk leapt across the stage, was celebrated by the crowd and then shouted into the microphone that everyone should go and vote for Trump. The bizarre appearance dispelled any remaining doubts: the richest man in the world is doing all he can to support the 78-year-old Republican in his comeback plans and wants to be involved on the big stage.

Musk has now pumped tens of millions of dollars into the ex-president's election campaign and has been chosen by him to sweep up a future Trump administration with an iron broom. His mission: to clean up the bureaucracy and fire public servants in droves. Musk's alliance with Trump was triggered by the failed assassination attempt on the ex-president on July 13; a few hours after the shooting, he announced his support for the Republican.

Personal and business reasons
Both personal and business reasons are cited for the high-tech billionaire's positioning in the far-right camp. Musk grew up in South Africa during the apartheid regime, characterized by the fear of a black takeover; the fact that he sees migrants as a threat to US democracy may have something to do with this experience. The fact that his son Justine Wilson had his gender entry changed to female and his name to Vivian may also have played a role: The entrepreneur raged afterwards that a "woke mind virus" had killed his son.

But by supporting the real estate billionaire, Musk is also pursuing tangible business interests. His companies SpaceX and Tesla operate in highly regulated industries and regularly clash with the US authorities. Tech analyst Rob Enderle warns that if Trump wins the election, Musk could in future be "effectively in charge of overseeing himself - potentially giving him the power to do anything he wants". Conversely, in a recent conversation with arch-conservative activist Tucker Carlson, Musk worried about his future should Trump lose the election on November 5: "If he loses, I'm screwed," the entrepreneur said.

X as a loudspeaker for the Trump campaign
Musk uses his online service X, where he has almost 200 million followers, as a loudspeaker for the Trump campaign. Since he took control of Twitter two years ago, content on the platform now known as X has hardly been moderated or blocked; distortions or lies supported by Trump can flood the web via this channel. "Musk is helping to spread racist conspiracy theories and is primarily targeting white men," says Sophie Bjork-James from Vanderbilt University.

The multi-billionaire also relies on money rather than arguments. Through his lobby group in support of Trump, America PAC (Political Action Committee), Musk recently offered each of his fellow countrymen 47 dollars: That was for signing a petition for freedom of speech and the right to bear arms in one of the embattled swing states. "Easy money," said Musk.

"Musk's influence is money, his super PAC and X. He's not afraid to use all three to support Trump - spreading misrepresentations and falsehoods that help Trump," said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato.

Mark Hass from Arizona State University points out that Musk's entry into the US election campaign has a new dimension that the USA has never seen before: A high-tech entrepreneur with immeasurable wealth, huge media influence and authoritarian tendencies has stepped onto the scene to become "king of the world".

What the 53-year-old does between now and November 5 could have major consequences, says Hass: both for the outcome of the presidential election and for the future political landscape in the USA.