Allying with Trump, Elon Musk is the latest billionaire to seek gov’t power

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If Elon Musk joins the United States authorities pursuing a Donald Trump triumph successful the statesmanlike election, helium volition beryllium the latest successful a succession of billionaire businesspeople to clasp nationalist office.

From the precocious Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and erstwhile New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and erstwhile President Trump himself, the super-rich person agelong held positions of powerfulness successful Washington, DC and crossed US authorities capitals.

With polls showing Tuesday’s predetermination connected a weapon edge, Musk is successful superior contention to articulation Trump’s furniture aft the Republican campaigner floated the thought of the tech billionaire serving arsenic alleged “Secretary of Cost Cutting”.

Since entering authorities aft decades successful the existent property business, Trump has displayed a penchant for drafting high-net-worth individuals from the backstage sector.

During his archetypal word successful office, Trump nominated 5 radical arsenic Cabinet secretaries who had spent each oregon astir each of their careers successful the concern world, including Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos, and erstwhile World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon.

According to an investigation by the Pew Research Centre, Trump’s archetypal slate of Cabinet nominees had much businesspeople with nary nationalist assemblage acquisition than immoderate different earlier it.

Musk, the world’s richest man, has called for drastic reductions successful authorities spending, though helium has provided fewer specifics astir wherever helium would nonstop cuts.

During Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally connected Sunday, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX CEO said the national fund could beryllium slashed by “at least” $2 trillion.

“Your wealth is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to hole that,” Musk told Howard Lutnick, the main enforcement of Wall Street steadfast Cantor Fitzgerald and a subordinate of Trump’s modulation readying team, erstwhile asked however overmuch helium could “rip out” of the latest national budget.

“We’re going to get the authorities disconnected your backmost and retired of your pocketbook.”

Such a simplification successful spending – adjacent to astir one-third of past year’s national fund of $6.75 trillion – would astir surely beryllium intolerable to execute without steep cuts successful areas that politicians crossed the aisle person been loath to touch, including societal security, healthcare, veterans’ benefits, and defence.

Musk himself has acknowledged that specified a crisp chopped successful spending would inflict superior economical pain.

On Tuesday, helium responded “sounds astir right” to a station connected X that predicted determination would beryllium “an archetypal terrible overreaction successful the economy” and “markets volition tumble.”

SpaceX and Tesla did not respond to requests seeking remark from Musk.

MuskElon Musk speaks arsenic portion of a run municipality hallway successful enactment of erstwhile President Donald Trump successful Folsom, Pennsylvania connected October 17, 2024 [Matt Rourke/AP]

While politicians pledging to extremity wasteful spending is hardly new, determination is nary “precise parallel” to a businessman similar Musk overseeing a section tasked with improving authorities efficiency, said Bruce Schulman, a prof of past astatine Boston University.

Political candidates that touted their acquisition successful business, from erstwhile President George W. Bush to statesmanlike nominee Mitt Romney, typically had a way grounds successful nationalist work earlier seeking to participate the highest levels of the national government.

Government commissions aimed astatine eliminating discarded and inefficiency – specified arsenic the Hoover Commission and the National Partnership for Reinventing Government led, respectively, by erstwhile President Herbert Hoover and Vice President Al Gore – person besides mostly been led by seasoned authorities officials.

Schulman said portion initiatives to destruct discarded person been endorsed astatine assorted times by some Democrats and Republicans, they person been mostly for “political show”.

“These efforts person had marginal effects, and mostly been for governmental show. But overall, some the size of the national authorities successful fig of employees and successful presumption of spending person been level for a agelong clip adjacent though the US colonisation has accrued dramatically. The national authorities is overmuch leaner than it was successful the 1960s/70s,” Schulman told Al Jazeera.

John Pelissero, manager of Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, questioned Musk’s lasting to clasp a authorities presumption fixed his deficiency of acquisition successful the nationalist sector.

“Without immoderate moving acquisition successful government, 1 mightiness wonderment however helium could beryllium qualified to inhabit a position, for example, that focuses connected authorities efficiency,” Pelissero told Al Jazeera.

“It is worthy noting that past authorities ratio oregon betterment commissions person often been led by an idiosyncratic who has earned nationalist spot and has heavy acquisition successful government.”

While Musk has been lauded arsenic a tech visionary successful the backstage sector, his concern way grounds is not without its stumbles and controversies.

Since his $44bn takeover of X successful 2022, the societal media platform’s worth has fallen astir 80 percent, according to a valuation by the concern elephantine Fidelity, mostly arsenic a effect of advertisers leaving the level implicit its loosening of contented moderation.

The Environmental Protection Agency has accused SpaceX of polluting the country astir its Texas base, damaging a surrounding authorities parkland and national wildlife refuge.

In September, the bureau fined SpaceX $148,378 implicit a chemic spill – a minuscule punishment for a institution of its size that Musk nevertheless branded arsenic “silly”.

A Cabinet presumption would beryllium an enticing reward for Musk, who has emerged arsenic 1 of Trump’s astir vocal and almighty supporters since July’s failed assassination effort connected the erstwhile president.

Musk’s companies clasp billions of dollars successful contracts with authorities agencies, raising concerns that his elevation to the authorities would make perchance immense conflicts of interest.

SpaceX unsocial has received much than $15bn successful authorities contracts for launching rockets for NASA, satellites for the Pentagon, and ferrying US astronauts to the International Space Station.

In February, the Wall Street Journal reported that the institution was awarded a $1.8bn classified authorities declaration with an unnamed authorities agency.

Tesla, which is facing regulatory scrutiny from galore authorities agencies, stands to payment from perchance looser regulatory enforcement during a affable Trump administration, arsenic good arsenic taxation cuts and subsidies.

X, meanwhile, provides Musk an “outsized quality to power authorities argumentation and amplify his oregon Trump’s views/policies successful government”, Pelissero said, adding that Musk should merchantability the level if helium is to participate government.

MuskElon Musk listens to erstwhile President Donald Trump speaking astatine a run lawsuit successful Butler, Pennsylvania connected October 5 [Alex Brandon/AP]

Musk’s power has already been connected afloat show successful the statesmanlike race.

The billionaire has poured astatine slightest $118m into Trump’s run done his America ace PAC, advocated vigorously for Trump connected X – including, successful immoderate cases, by spreading the Republican candidate’s mendacious claims of predetermination fraud – and stumped with him connected the run trail.

His efforts to beforehand Trump person adjacent gone arsenic acold arsenic investigating the limits of predetermination law.

On Monday, Philadelphia’s territory lawyer filed a lawsuit requesting a justice to artifact Musk’s $1m regular giveaway for registered voters successful battleground states, calling it an “illegal lottery scheme”.

The determination came days aft the US Justice Department sent America ace PAC a missive informing that the lottery for voters who motion a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments of the US Constitution whitethorn interruption national law.

Despite his showmanship and uncensored comments, Musk is successful immoderate ways pursuing a acquainted playbook for US elites, said Daniel Krcmaric, an subordinate prof of governmental subject astatine Northwestern University successful Chicago and the co-author of a 2023 survey connected billionaire politicians.

“All of these tactics are portion of a broader strategy to usage his unthinkable wealthiness to sway – utilizing informal means – the US statesmanlike predetermination successful his preferred direction,” Krcmaric told Al Jazeera.

It is not antithetic for the ultra-wealthy to propulsion their resources down governmental candidates, whether Republican oregon Democratic, oregon exert power implicit the authorities done their concern interests, specified arsenic successful the lawsuit of John Pierpont Morgan – aka J.P. Morgan – who functioned arsenic a de facto cardinal banker astatine the crook of the 20th century.

Though acold from unheard of, it is little communal for them to question office.

Analysing information from the Forbes Global 2000 database of billionaires, Krcmaric’s survey recovered that 11 percent of billionaires worldwide person either sought oregon held ceremonial nationalist office.

Transitioning from concern to authorities is acold much communal successful autocracies than democracies, according to the study, with 29 percent of billionaires seeking oregon holding bureau successful the former, compared with 5 percent successful the latter.

Worldwide, the database of billionaire businessmen-turned-politicians includes erstwhile Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, erstwhile Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, erstwhile Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and erstwhile Australian legislator Clive Palmer.

BERLUSCONI/Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi arrives for a gathering with then-Italian President Sergio Mattarella successful Rome connected October 21, 2022 [Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters]

The US has a little complaint of governmental information by billionaires than average, astatine conscionable 3.7 percent, owed to the galore different avenues of power disposable to them, according to Krcmaric, including bankrolling campaigns and advocacy groups.

During the existent US statesmanlike predetermination cycle, the 50 biggest donors person fixed much than $2.5bn to power governmental races and causes – astir two-thirds of which favoured Republicans and conservative-aligned causes.

While Musk has lone begun explicitly supporting Trump precocious aft years of expressing enactment for Democrats, helium has publically identified with blimpish and right-wing causes since astatine slightest 2022, the twelvemonth helium bought Twitter – arsenic X was past known – successful a hostile takeover.

Soon aft buying the level that October, Musk reinstated the accounts of galore right-leaning figures who had been banned for inflammatory posts oregon spreading misinformation, including Trump, self-described “misogynist” influencer Andrew Tate, Canadian scientist Jordan Peterson, and US legislator Marjorie Taylor Green.

At astir the aforesaid time, Musk began utilizing his X relationship to contented warnings astir the aboriginal of Western civilisation and the power of the “woke caput virus”, referring to what critics accidental is left-wing politics’ enactment of censorship and obsession with race, sex and intersexual identity.

“This is simply a conflict for the aboriginal of civilization. If escaped code is mislaid adjacent successful America, tyranny is each that lies ahead,” Musk said successful a station connected November 29.

As a self-described “free-speech absolutist”, Musk besides dramatically curtailed contented moderation connected X and scrapped the platform’s “verified” diagnostic for high-profile figures specified arsenic celebrities and politicians.

The changes drew disapproval from wide activists and misinformation scholars, who warned that they would pb to a emergence successful hatred code and the impersonation of nationalist figures.

Musk’s engagement with fringe figures, specified arsenic conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, connected the level was besides held up by critics arsenic grounds of a crisp crook to the right.

Musk besides began softly donating tens of millions of dollars to blimpish causes successful the US, channelling wealth to the PAC Citizens for Sanity and the statesmanlike run of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, The Wall Street Journal reported past month.

In July, Musk announced his volition to determination the office of X and SpaceX from California to Texas to protestation against a instrumentality that bans schools from forcing teachers to notify parents erstwhile their kid changes their sex identity.

Musk’s crook to the close has besides been connected show successful his expressed views astir planetary affairs, including his promotion of a “plan for peace” successful Ukraine that critics accidental intimately aligned with the Kremlin’s talking points connected the war.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Musk had been successful regular interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin since October 2022, quoting existent and erstwhile US, European and Russian officials.

While galore of the details of the discussions were unknown, Putin reportedly asked Musk to refrain from activating his Starlink outer net work implicit Taiwan arsenic a favour to his ally, Chinese person Xi Jinping, the paper said, quoting a erstwhile Russian quality officer.

Xi, who has pledged to “reunify” antiauthoritarian Taiwan with the Chinese mainland by force, if necessary, would apt chopped Taiwan’s connection lines successful the lawsuit of an penetration oregon blockade, according to information analysts.

Musk did not respond to WSJ’s petition for remark connected interaction with Putin, the paper said, though helium aboriginal mocked the nonfiction connected X without denying its claims.

Regardless of the result of the election, Musk volition proceed to exert tremendous influence, whether from the sidelines oregon from wrong the White House, said H.W. Brands, a prof astatine the University of Texas astatine Austin.

“Social media has fixed backstage individuals avenues to personage that didn’t beryllium before. Trump and Musk are bully examples,” Brands told Al Jazeera.

“Trump had the further vantage of his tv show, but helium outflanked regular Republicans successful 2016 successful a mode that would person been astir intolerable successful earlier generations.”

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