Billionaire Elon Musk backed former President Trump’s campaign following an assassination attempt on the former president at a rally on Saturday, marking a turning point for Musk and his political shift to the right in recent years.
“I fully support President Trump and hope for his speedy recovery,” Musk wrote in a post on his social platform X, alongside a video of the former president standing and raising his fist after being shot in the ear.
Since posting his initial endorsement on Saturday, Musk has posted and reposted dozens of X posts in support of Trump.
The tech billionaire, who owns Tesla and SpaceX along with the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has sparred with President Biden in recent years and indicated he would support Republican Party candidates. In March Musk said on X he voted “100% Democrat until a few years ago,” but “now, I think we need a red wave or America will be toast.”
Musk has been increasingly critical of Democratic policies, including diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, as well as Biden’s embrace of unions and his approach to immigration and the border.
After purchasing Twitter, now users, including Trump and other right-wing influencers. who was banned for violating the platform’s previous policies.
The changes were widely praised by conservatives, who accused social media platforms of censoring right-wing views.
Musk appeared to be getting closer and closer to Trump in recent months, with Wall Street Journal report in late May, the billionaire and the former president discussed a possible advisory role for Musk in a second Trump administration.
A day before the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was injured, Bloomberg also reported that Musk donated an undisclosed amount of money to America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC.
The tech billionaire previously vowed not to donate to Biden or Trump as the pair prepare to face off again in the November election.
“Just to be clear, I am not donating money to any of the US presidential candidates,” Musk wrote on X in March.
“While I express my opinion, I don’t want to, you know, put my thumb on the financially significant scale,” he also told former CNN anchor Don Lemon in an interview several weeks later.
Other business leaders also supported Trump after the shooting. Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square, supported the former president on Saturday.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
