Trump meets with Elon Musk as Biden dominates in fundraising: report
Donald Trump on Sunday met with tech magnate Elon Musk and several other wealthy Republican donors in Palm Beach, Florida, according to what three sources briefed on the meeting told the New York Times. It was not immediately clear from the Times report what the meeting was about; however, Trump is seeking to bolster his campaign funds by securing additional donors in the months ahead of the November presidential election.
Musk, who owns X/Twitter and heads SpaceX and Tesla, is one of the world's wealthiest men — as such, the Times reported, he could "potentially, almost single-handedly, erase what is expected to be Mr. Biden and his allies’ huge financial advantage over the former president." Biden entered February with $56 million in cash on hand compared to the Trump campaign's $30 million.
In the past, Musk has stated he is independent in his views and beliefs, even encountering moments of overt tension with the former president. In July of 2022, Trump referred to the billionaire businessman as a "bulls**t artist" for saying he had never voted for a member of the GOP before that time.
“I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset,” Musk tweeted in response. “Dems should also call off the attack — don’t make it so that Trump’s only way to survive is to regain the Presidency.”
Recently, however, Musk has begun to express clear favoritism for conservatives, as well as a staunch aversion for President Joe Biden's immigration policies. He has harangued against the "woke" leftist agenda and on Tuesday, went so far as to claim on X/Twitter that Democrats are “ushering in vast numbers of illegals” as a means of "importing voters." The same day, he shared a border-related post that alleged "America will fall if it tries to absorb the world. That is why I am banging the drum so much about this issue."
According to the Times report, a person close to Musk indicated that Trump's views on immigration would be a central contributing factor for why he would consider pledging his support to the ex-president. And on Monday, in response to a clip of comedian Bill Maher saying he would vote for Biden over Trump in nearly any situation, Musk tweeted, "Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a very real disease."
The Times reported that neither Musk nor Trump's aides responded to a request for comment on the reported meeting.
