Trump Endorses Elon Musk for Cabinet Position
20 Aug, 2024 ● Crypto people
The Republican nominee for the 2024 U.S. presidential election mentioned that he might consider appointing Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a Cabinet position if he wins against Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
In an interview with Reuters published on Aug. 19, Donald Trump stated he "certainly would" consider including Musk in his Cabinet or in an advisory role starting in January 2025 "if he would do it."
However, Trump did not specify which of the 15 executive departments — such as Energy, Labor, Transportation, Commerce, and Treasury — he might assign to the Tesla CEO.
Trump’s remarks followed a conversation with Musk during an Aug. 12 X Spaces discussion, which was delayed by 30 to 40 minutes due to what Musk described as a “massive DDoS attack” on the platform.
However, former X employees reportedly questioned Musk’s claims, noting that no significant issues seemed to affect other users at the time.
Musk did not support Trump in the 2020 election against then-former Vice President Joe Biden, who ultimately defeated the Republican candidate.
In July 2022, the Tesla CEO tweeted that he did not “hate” Trump but that Trump should “hang up his hat and sail into the sunset.”
Following an alleged assassination attempt against Trump in July, Musk tweeted an endorsement of the Republican candidate and has since made several posts criticizing the policies of President Biden and Vice President Harris.
Trump, during a July rally, expressed his admiration for Musk, calling him a “very smart guy.”
“I’m for electric cars,” Trump said during an Aug. 3 rally. “I have to be, because Elon endorsed me very strongly, Elon. So I have no choice.”
Reports indicated that Musk would donate $45 million monthly toward Trump’s reelection campaign.
Musk largely refuted the reported amount, stating he would be contributing to a political action committee supporting Trump "at a much lower level."
Some major donors to Trump’s reelection campaign seem to secure positions in support of the Republican candidate.
On Aug. 16, his campaign announced that Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Linda McMahon would co-chair his transition team if he wins in November.
Trump, who was the U.S. president at the time, was banned from X, then known as Twitter, by CEO Jack Dorsey in January 2021 after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building and clashed with police officers.
The platform stated that it "permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
After Musk acquired the social media platform in October 2022, he held an online poll and reinstated Trump’s account.
However, Trump continued to primarily use his Truth Social platform, which he launched in February 2022.
Trump made his return to Twitter — by then rebranded as X — only once in August 2023, posting his mugshot after surrendering in Georgia for alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Before the X Spaces discussion with Musk, Trump appeared to have resumed regular postings on the platform.
With about 77 days remaining until the U.S. presidential election, numerous polls indicate a close race between Trump and Harris, with the Democratic candidate either leading or within the margin of error in several key battleground states.
The two candidates are set to face off in a televised debate on Sept. 10.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/donald-trump-elon-musk-cabinet-us-president
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/08/14/experts-doubt-musk-cyberattack-claim/
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1546669610509799424
