And Not Just Trump
Aside from relying to get Trump elected, the world’s richest person, fascist and heinous criminal Elon Musk, is also targeting 14 Democrats running in the House— 6 incumbents and 8 challengers. The motivation is clearly partisan and strategic and has nothing to do with what kind of Democrat they are nor what kind of interactions they’ve had with him or his businesses. The incumbent Democrats he’s spending money to defeat are mostly conservatives:
• Blue Dog co-chairman and MAGA-Democrat Jared Golden in ME-02 where Musk has spent $157,500 to bolster Republican candidate Austin Theriault.
• Another Blue Dog co-chair, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in WA-03, where Musk has spent $130,500 to help elect full-on Nazi Joe Kent
Gabe Vasquez in NM-02 where Musk’s PAC has spent $86,997 to try getting former congresswoman Yvette Herrell back into the House.
Yadira Caraveo in CO-08 where Musk has spent $75,897to help replace her with Republican candidate Gabe Evans.
• Emilia Sykes in OH-13, where his PAC has spent $212,062 to help Republican candidate Kevin Coughlin.
• Marcy Kaptur in OH-09 , where his PAC has spent $160,125 to help Republican candidate Derrick Merrin.
The Democratic challengers he’s trying to undermine so far have been
• Derek Tran, who’s running for Michelle Steel’s Orange County seat CA-45, where his PAC has already spent $221,875.
• Former Rep, former progressive Mondaire Jones in NY-17, where Musk is spending big ($296,925) to help Mike Lawler keep the rest in a very blue district
• Will Rollins in CA-41, where Musk spent $264,825 to help shady Republican Ken Calvert stay in Congress
• Tony Vargas, a weak candidate in NE-02 against entrenched incumbent Don Bacon. Musk kicked in a relatively inconsequential $50,903 to help Bacon.
• Sue Altman, in NJ-07, where Musk has spent $109,702 ito protect Tom Kean.
• Lanon Baccam in Des Moines (IA-03) where Musk has spent $43,853 to help freshman Zach Nunn keep his shaky seat.
Rudy Salas in CA-22 (Central Valley) where Musk spent $172,537 to help protect David Valadao, one of just 2 Republicans left in the House who voted to impeach Trump.
Josh Riley in NY-19, where Musk’s PAC has spent $131,323 to help protect Marc Molinaro.
Bryan Metzger reported that all the money from America PAC shows that “Musk's involvement with the GOP won't stop with Trump.” The world’s richest man is clearly backing the party whose agenda is subservient to wealthy and in opposition to the middle and working class. “Musk’s super PAC,” he wrote, “has already spent tens of millions of dollars on electing Trump. Now, the tech billionaire's ‘America PAC’ is wading into the fight for control of the House of Representatives. According to a document filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday night, America PAC is spending more than $2.1 million across 14 competitive House races. There's likely to be more where that came from. Punchbowl News reported on Monday that the PAC has set aside $10 million for ‘voter turnout’ in House races around the country.”
Musk, who lies as effortlessly as Trump does, told Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson in an interview in July, that “his PAC was ‘not meant to be sort of a hyperpartisan PAC’ and that the goals were ‘promoting meritocracy’ and promoting ‘freedom to operate, meaning the least amount of of government intervention possible.’”
It remains unclear how much Musk, who created the PAC and is reportedly involved deeply in itself operations, has contributed to the PAC himself. The PAC's July report did not include any contributions from Musk, and the group isn't required to disclose further contributions until mid-October. Musk has also denied earlier reports that he planned to spend $45 million per month on the effort.
So far, America PAC has spent more than $55 million on the election, the vast majority of which has gone toward supporting Trump and opposing Vice President Kamala Harris.
But the spending indicates that Musk's pivot toward the right isn't limited to Trump, and that he's invested in helping Republicans hold onto control of the House as well.
Others who have poured money into the PAC are Musk suck-ups Shaun Maguire, a genocidal maniac and founder of Sequoia Capital, Douglas Leone (also from Sequoia billionaire) and the Winklevoss, twins crcyptocriminals, who have been spending millions against Democrats all over the map. Meanwhile, Reuters noted yesterday that employees at his companies are largely donating to Kamala, not to Trump— and by more than two to one.
Historically, billionaire support has been a double-edged sword for conservative candidates in both Europe and the U.S. While financial backing from wealthy individuals can provide the resources necessary for electoral success, it also fuels populist backlash and hurt candidates by reinforcing perceptions of elitism and corruption, as it did with Mitt Romney’s and Jeb Bush’s presidential runs. Besides Musk, other crooked billionaires, who supported the GOP to further their own economic interests have included the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson (and the Israeli whore/gold-digger who married him), Peter Thiel, Robert Mercer, Richard Uihlein, Ken Griffin, Larry Ellison, Paul Singer, Steve Schwarzman, Ron Lauder, the DeVos clan, Diane Hendricks and Harold Hamm.
During FDR’s campaigns and presidency, he faced fierce opposition from some of the wealthiest and most criminal elements in the country in response to the New Deal, which sought to regulate business, redistribute wealth and establish social welfare programs. The dogged opposition from robber baron types like the DuPonts Mellons, Nazi sympathizer Henry Ford, JP Morgan, etc backfired, solidifying FDR’s image as a champion of the people and scourge of the selfish and greed-obsessed billionaire class. He turned their criticism into a populist advantage, portraying his opponents as out-of-touch oligarchs seeking to preserve a rigged system. One of his most famous remarks about them (1936) was “Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me— and I welcome their hatred. I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.” This resonated with working-class and poor Americans, who saw his enemies as their own. FDR’s presidency marked a major turning point in the perception of wealth and politics. The era planted the seeds of a political narrative that continues today—namely, that the influence of billionaires is dangerous to democracy and ordinary Americans’ economic well-being. It helped put the robber barons influence from the late 19th century’s Gilded Age— Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan— into check, after years of their ability to control the government.
Personally, I think the 18th and 19th Century French handled the situation better than FDR did. In pre-revolutionary France, the extreme concentration of wealth in the hands of the nobility and clergy at the expense of the working poor contributed to the tensions that led to the Revolution (1789). The monarchy's close ties to the aristocracy and their opposition to economic reform deepened public anger, ultimately leading to the collapse of the old regime and to the execution of many of these scumbags and the confiscation of their ill-gotten wealth.
While Musk’s support for Trump and the GOP has gained him a loyal following on the right, it’s alienated other segments of the population, particularly progressives and even moderates. His image has taken a hit, particularly among younger, more progressive Americans, who have been core supporters of his companies, especially Tesla. A YouGov poll from late 2022 found that Tesla’s favorability had dropped among Democrats after Musk’s political leanings became more pronounced. This backlash could undermine consumer support for his businesses, which, in turn, might affect his long-term financial power in politics.
His increasing alignment with Trump and right-wing populism risks pigeonholing him as a partisan figure, reducing his broader appeal. In a polarized electorate, this will limit his influence to a narrower base. His opposition to higher taxes on billionaires and his hysterical support of deregulation— clearly tied to his support for the GOP— helps people understand that his backing for the GOP is all about self-interest. And his anti-woke nonsense on Twitter, which amplifies extreme, even violent, right-wing ideas, parallels Trump’s own messaging, which has wandered more and more into the realm of conspiracy theories, hate speech and political violence. I wonder how many people are wary about Trump offering him a position where he could work on streamlining, auditing the government and working on deregulation.
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