Musk expresses support for Trump as President
Trump campaigns in Pennsylvania. Suddenly gunshots and the ex-President has blood on his ear. Events turn chaotic. Shortly thereafter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces his official support for Trump's presidential candidacy.
After the violent incident at a campaign rally for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, where the former US President was injured, Elon Musk officially declared his support for Trump's re-election bid. "I fully support President Trump and hope he recovers quickly", Musk wrote on X, the significant short messaging service, on Saturday (local time). Musk had taken over X in 2022.
Musk also shared a video on X that shows Trump being escorted off the stage at the rally in Pennsylvania with a defiant fist after the incident. In a later post, Musk added that the last candidate of this caliber the US had was President Theodore Roosevelt. Neither Musk nor X representatives were available for comment.
The incident occurred as Trump was beginning his speech on the stage in the small town of Butler. After the gunshots or explosions, law enforcement officers of the Secret Service rushed to Trump, and after that, the ex-President, with blood on his right ear, was taken into safety. Trump was reportedly injured by a bullet in the ear.
Trump released from hospital
Trump's campaign team later reported that the 78-year-old former President was doing well and would be undergoing further medical examination at a local medical facility. Earlier, the Secret Service, which is responsible for the protection of current and former US Presidents, had announced that Trump was safe. According to a Bloomberg report, Trump was discharged from the hospital late on Saturday evening (local time).
The Secret Service is investigating and will provide updates to the public when more information is available, said the communications chief of the agency, Anthony Guglielmi, on X. The White House also informed President Joe Biden about the incident.
The gathering was Trump's last campaign rally before the Republican Party convention, which officially makes him the presidential candidate of the party, starting on Monday. It took place in the small town of Butler in Pennsylvania. The state is one of the so-called Swing States, where Democrats and Republicans often have very close races and which are therefore decisive in the US Presidential Election. The US Presidential Election is on November 5.
Support in "Swing States"
Before Trump's campaign appearance, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that Musk was supporting Trump's presidential campaign. According to the report, the tech billionaire had donated a substantial amount to a Super-PAC, an organization that supports Trump's campaign in the so-called Swing States. The exact donation amount is not publicly known. Neither the Trump campaign nor the America PAC administration has commented on the matter according to Bloomberg.
Called Super Pacs are organizations that can accept unlimited contributions and use them for advertising for specific candidates or political causes. The abbreviation "Pac" stands for political action committee. A donation to Trump in States that frequently swing between Democrats and Republicans is a win for him. The campaigning in these "Swing States" is particularly intense. The CEO of Tesla had previously stated that he neither supports Trump's nor President Joe Biden's election efforts.
In light of the violent incident at Trump's campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and X, publicly endorsed Trump's bid for the United States Presidency Election 2024, expressing his hope for a swift recovery for the former President. This announcement came days before the Republican Party convention, where Trump was set to be officially nominated as the party's presidential candidate.
