Musk Says He Is ‘All in’ on Trump in US Election

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) speaks on stage as he joins former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) speaks on stage as he joins former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Musk Says He Is ‘All in’ on Trump in US Election

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) speaks on stage as he joins former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) speaks on stage as he joins former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

Elon Musk is ramping up his public support of Donald Trump, telling Tucker Carlson in a conversation streamed Monday that he is "all in" on the Republican presidential candidate.

After appearing alongside Trump at a weekend rally, the world's richest man used a cozy two-hour chat with Carlson to push right-wing talking points, including what he said was the threat to democracy if Democrat Kamala Harris prevails in November's election.

"My view is that if Trump doesn't win this election, it's the last election we're going to have," the Tesla and SpaceX boss told former Fox News host Carlson.

Musk, who has increasingly courted controversy in recent years, said he believed "illegals" -- migrants -- were being deliberately transported to a handful of key states, where if they are eventually granted citizenship, they would become Democrat voters.

"Now these swing-state margins are sometimes ten- twenty-thousand votes. So what happens if you put hundreds of thousands of people into each swing state?

"So my prediction is, if there's another four years of a Dem administration, they will legalize so many illegals that... the next election there won't be any swing states, and this will be a single-party country."

The assertions from Musk -- who is himself from South Africa -- are a common refrain on the political right, which alleges a conspiracy between Democrats and immigrants.

Musk is increasingly becoming a surrogate for Trump on the campaign trail, and is reportedly planning to make a number of stops in battleground states in the coming weeks.

Over the weekend, he unveiled a program promising to pay $47 to anyone who registers voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Michigan.

The scheme is looking to copy successful referral programs the South Africa-born entrepreneur has used in the past with his Tesla electric cars.

In his nearly two-hour chat with Carlson, in which the two men chuckled repeatedly at each other's pronouncements, Musk said he had thrown his full backing behind fellow billionaire Trump.

"If he loses, it's going to be hard for you to pretend you never supported him," said Carlson.

"I'm like, all in, baby," replied Musk.

"How long do you think my prison sentence is gonna be?" he chortled, laughing at the idea that the tables would turn against him under a Democratic administration. "Will I see my children? I don't know."



Political Feuds Divide US Congress over How Closely to Stand by Israel

The dome of the US Capitol is seen at dusk in Washington, DC on November 13, 2023. (AFP)
The dome of the US Capitol is seen at dusk in Washington, DC on November 13, 2023. (AFP)
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Political Feuds Divide US Congress over How Closely to Stand by Israel

The dome of the US Capitol is seen at dusk in Washington, DC on November 13, 2023. (AFP)
The dome of the US Capitol is seen at dusk in Washington, DC on November 13, 2023. (AFP)

There were some bipartisan efforts in the US Congress to commemorate the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, but the anniversary also touched on political feuds raging over how closely the US should stand by Israel.

Republicans have pushed steadfast support for Israel even amid its devastating campaign into Gaza. Earlier this year, they heartily welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Capitol for a speech.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday called for the US to "recommit to stand with Israel in its righteous fight."

He also said that the Hamas attack that triggered the war a year ago had drawn antisemitism "out of the shadows" against Jewish communities around the world.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, was expected to speak later Monday at an event for the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Democrats, meanwhile, marked the day with statements of condolence for the victims of the Oct. 7 attack, but were divided in their continued support for Israeli aggressions. The left-wing of the party has become increasingly critical of Israel’s retaliatory attack that left Gaza in ruins and killed over 41,000 people.

"Instead of securing the release of the hostages, however, Prime Minister Netanyahu has unleashed unthinkable violence on innocent civilians in Gaza," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Ma., in a statement.

"More than a million Palestinians are facing starvation. We see videos of dead children held in the arms of their parents. Violence is escalating throughout the region, including most recently in Lebanon, threatening even more human suffering."

Meanwhile, the US Treasury sanctioned three people in Europe, a charity group and a bank in Gaza, all accused of helping to bankroll Hamas.

The Treasury says Hamas and its affiliates raise funds through sham charities and as of this year, the group may have received as much as $10 million a month through such donations.

Included in the sanctions: Mohammad Hannoun, an Italy-based Hamas member and his Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People; Majed al-Zeer, a senior Hamas representative in Germany and Adel Doughman, who is in charge of Hamas activity in Austria.  

Additionally, Al-Intaj, an unlicensed Hamas-run bank in Gaza was sanctioned for allegedly providing services to Hamas.

"As we mark one year since Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, Treasury will continue relentlessly degrading the ability of Hamas and other destabilizing Iranian proxies to finance their operations and carry out additional violent acts," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.