{"id":2357573,"date":"2024-10-21T14:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T18:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-elon-musk-evolved-into-a-trump-surrogate-and-the-bumps-hes-hit-along-the-way-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-21T14:43:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T18:43:59","slug":"how-elon-musk-evolved-into-a-trump-surrogate-and-the-bumps-hes-hit-along-the-way-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-elon-musk-evolved-into-a-trump-surrogate-and-the-bumps-hes-hit-along-the-way-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"How Elon Musk evolved into a Trump surrogate and the bumps he\u2019s hit along the way &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-elon-musk-evolved-into-a-trump-surrogate-and-the-bumps-hes-hit-along-the-way-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2357573&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Elon\u200d Musk, known \u2064for his roles as a \u2064tech \u200cmogul and space pioneer, has recently \u2064embraced the position of a campaign\u2064 surrogate for \u2064Donald \u200cTrump as \u2064the \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/third-party-no-labels-planning-2024-nominating-convention-in-april\/\" title=\"No Labels, a third-party organization, plans to hold its 2024 nominating convention in April.\">2024 presidential election \u200dapproaches<\/a>. His\u2062 support for Trump intensified following an assassination attempt on the former president, \u2062which Musk publicly condemned and pledged his \u2062backing. Since then, Musk has actively participated \u2063in Trump-related initiatives, including founding America PAC, \u200dwhich he notably funded with $75 million, aimed at supporting Trump&#8217;s campaign efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Musk has \u200bconsistently expressed his enthusiasm for Trump&#8217;s candidacy\u2064 on social\u200b media and made \u200cpublic\u2064 appearances alongside him,\u200c notably donning a &#8220;Make America Great Again&#8221; hat \u2062at a\u200d rally in Pennsylvania. His commitment to Trump has become more tangible \u2063as he \u200dis now anticipated to \u200cplay a significant role in a\u200d potential Trump administration, specifically mentioned as a\u2063 leader\u200c of a &#8220;government \u200befficiency commission.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Despite\u2064 Musk&#8217;s campaign efforts, \u200cincluding a controversial initiative offering cash to swing-state residents \u200dwho support the First and Second Amendments, he has\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dont-say-goodbye-to-cuomo-just-yet\/\" title=\"Don\u2019t Say Goodbye to Cuomo Just Yet\">faced legal scrutiny<\/a> regarding the \u200clegality of this promotion. Despite these challenges, Musk&#8217;s backing through America \u200cPAC has bolstered Trump&#8217;s campaign strategies in critical \u2062swing\u2062 states, although \u2063organizational setbacks indicate that improvements\u2064 are needed as election day approaches.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">How Elon Musk evolved into a Trump surrogate and the bumps he&rsquo;s hit along the way<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1841155\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Elon Musk<\/a> is a tech mogul, space pioneer, and electric vehicle savant. But for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"2024 presidential election,\">2024 presidential election,<\/a> he has added another title: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Trump<\/a> campaign surrogate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Musk has increasingly linked himself with the Trump campaign with get-out-the-vote efforts and appearances at campaign events. Musk&rsquo;s admiration of former President Donald Trump seemed to begin after the Republican&rsquo;s July 13 assassination attempt.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,&rdquo; Musk <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1812256998588662068\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> minutes after Trump&rsquo;s assassination attempt. He later posted the picture of Trump raising his fist, surrounded by Secret Service agents, with blood dripping off his ear.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, Musk has steadily embraced the Republican presidential candidate. He founded America PAC, which he later funded with $75 million of his own money to support Trump. Musk posted several <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1815107924257341525\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>times<\/a> on his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a>, X, about a week after Trump&rsquo;s assassination attempt with the words &ldquo;Trump\/Vance LFG!!&rdquo; &mdash;&nbsp;demonstrating his clear enthusiasm for the ticket.<\/p>\n<p>Even as Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, Musk retained his support for Trump despite an invigorated Democratic base. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Trump will save democracy and America,&rdquo; he said in an Aug. 26 <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1827973671593349161\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>post<\/a>. &ldquo;Mark my words. Kamala\/Harris would be a disaster.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Then Musk&rsquo;s support for Trump took a more physical shape in October.<\/p>\n<p>He appeared at the Republican&rsquo;s second rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 6, with clear homages to the former president&rsquo;s assassination attempt around the venue. Musk wore a dark &ldquo;Make America Great Again&rdquo; hat and spoke onstage alongside Trump.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We had one president who couldn&rsquo;t climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist-pumping after getting shot,&rdquo; Musk said. &ldquo;America is the home of the brave, and there&rsquo;s no truer test than courage under fire.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Before Trump&rsquo;s first assassination attempt, there were rumors Musk could join Trump&rsquo;s White House as an adviser for the former president, with little doubt that the Tesla CEO would shed influence on the administration&rsquo;s handling of big business, space, and other topics.<\/p>\n<p>Musk&rsquo;s direct involvement with a potential Trump administration has escalated since then. Trump now says he will make Musk the head of a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-pledges-to-create-musk-led-govt-efficiency-commission\/\" title=\"Trump Pledges To Create Musk-Led Govt. &#039;Efficiency Commission&#039;\">government efficiency commission&#038;rdquo<\/a>; with an aim to further cut government spending.<\/p>\n<p>That could be part of why Musk is investing into Trump. Or it could be to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/20\/us\/politics\/elon-musk-federal-agencies-contracts.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>add<\/a> to the billions of government contracts that his companies already have.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent controversial effort, Musk&rsquo;s America PAC revealed a $1 million giveaway each day to Nov. 5 to any swing-state resident who signs a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. Several people have already won. The petition also offers a much smaller cash incentive to each registered swing-state voter who signs and cash for referring a registered voter to sign.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The only thing we ask for the million dollars is that you be a spokesperson for the petition, and that&rsquo;s it, really,&rdquo; Musk said.<\/p>\n<p>Musk has faced fire from those who believe the promotion is illegal. &ldquo;I believe [Elon] Musk&rsquo;s offer is likely illegal,&rdquo; Paul Schiff Berman, the Walter S. Cox professor of law at George Washington University, told the BBC. He believes it violates a section of election law prohibiting paying voters to register.<\/p>\n<p>Former Federal Election Commission Chairman Brad Smith <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/10\/21\/elon-musk-registration-payments-legal-questions\/75774762007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> the <em>New York Times<\/em> he believed it fell in a &ldquo;gray area.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Outside of Musk&rsquo;s promotion, America PAC has boosted the Trump campaign&rsquo;s ground game in swing states through a massive cash infusion into door-knocking and get-out-the-vote initiatives. Musk <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/pittsburgh\/news\/elon-musk-town-hall-pittsburgh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>himself<\/a> has prioritized Pennsylvania, appearing with Senate candidate Dave McCormick.<\/p>\n<p>There are signs Musk&rsquo;s effort isn&rsquo;t perfect: The organization continues to look for workers with days until the election, and there have been allegations some of America PAC&rsquo;s door-knocking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rawstory.com\/trump-setback-fake-door-knocking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>statistics<\/a> have been inflated.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not 100% as good, probably, as they would like it to be or we would like it to be &mdash; but it&rsquo;s a lot of added coverage regardless,&rdquo; one senior Trump campaign aide<a href=\"https:\/\/www.csmonitor.com\/USA\/Politics\/2024\/1018\/elon-musk-trump-ground-game-voter-turnout\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> told<\/a> the <em>Christian Science Monitor<\/em>. &ldquo;Any time you&rsquo;re hiring lots of people [quickly] and covering lots of ground, you&rsquo;re going to have a little bit of garbage in there, a little bit of bad performance. But it&rsquo;s at the margins.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If those efforts fail and Trump doesn&rsquo;t win, Musk has suggested he will face consequences.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If he loses, I&rsquo;m f***ed,&rdquo; Musk told&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TuckerCarlson\/status\/1843375397024485778\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tucker Carlson in an interview broadcast on X<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;How long do you think my prison sentence is going to be?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Will I see my children? I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1841155\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1841155\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elon Musk has become a Trump campaign surrogate for 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2357574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Musk-Trump.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[32192,33457,43441,43440,32076],"class_list":["post-2357573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-elon-musk","tag-media-analysis","tag-political-evolution","tag-trump-surrogate","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Musk-Trump.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2357573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2357574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2357573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2357573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2357573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}