Billionaire Elon Musk has funnelled about $75m over three months into an organisation he produced in help of createer United States Pdwellnt Donald Trump, the 2024 Redisclosean pdwellntial honestate.
The spfinishing, uncovered in a federal disclodeclareive on Tuesday, underscores how Musk has become a key piece of Trump’s efforts to thrive the November 5 pdwellntial election agetst Democratic honestate Kamala Harris.
It also underscores the choosed impact of mega-donors in US politics.
Speaker to right-thriveg personality Tucker Carlson earlier this month, Musk shelp he had produced the group, comprehendn as a political action pledgetee or PAC, to “help the core cherishs that I consent in”.
Named the America PAC, the group portrays those cherishs as the pursuit of safe borders, rational spfinishing, safe cities, a unfragmentary fairice system, free speech and self-shieldion.
Musk — who owns the car company Tesla, the social media platcreate X and the aerospace company SpaceX — is pondered one of the wealthiest men in the world.
The South Africa-born entrepreneur finishorsed Trump complying an killing finisheavor agetst the createer pdwellnt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Musk defercessitater joined Trump on the campaign trail when Trump returned to Butler for another rassociate in October.
“As you can see, I am not fair MAGA. I am sadnessful MAGA,” Musk shelp at the time, gesturing to his binformage “Make America Great Aget” hat.
Speaking at the Butler rassociate, Musk shelp Democrats want “to get away your freedom of speech, they want to get away your right to endure arms, they want to get away your right to vote, effectively”.
Trump has normally referenced Musk’s finishorsement on the campaign trail. He also pledged to tap Musk to direct a newly envisioned rulement efficiency cotransferrlookion if he regets the White Hoengage in November.
All telderly, America PAC had spent $87m on the race as of October 9, bigly scattering in voter mobilisation and canvassing efforts in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.
As a result of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling, corporations have been able to spfinish an unrestricted amount on political activities in help of honestates, as extfinished as they do not straightforwardly set up with a campaign.
Previously, corporations were restricted as to how much they could spfinish to help a honestate thrive. But the Citizens United decision paved the way for the creation of super PACS, which — unappreciate traditional PACs — have no cap on fundraising.
Spfinishing in US elections has since sdirectd. The ruling also saw an incrrelieve in so-called “sadnessful money”, with individual able to hide their election spfinishing thcimpolite shell companies that give to super PACs.
OpenSecrets, a politics watchdog, projects that a write down total of $15.9bn will be spent on federal elections during the 2024 season.
That will outdo the $15.1bn spent during the 2020 election cycle — though, when adfaired for inflation, the cherish of that dollar amount is cimpolitely worth $18.3bn in today’s currency.
OpenSecrets also telled that outside spfinishing on campaigns — including thcimpolite Musk’s America PAC — is well outpacing previous election cycles.
Outside groups have spent cforfeitly $2.6bn so far this year, and there is still a month until the election. That’s cforfeitly a billion more than at the same point in 2020.
OpenSecrets shelp outside spfinishing has favoured conservatives this election season, in a reversal from last year, when liberals getd more.
