Joe Biden casts vote ahead of US election and hits out at Elon Musk over 'inappropriate' cash giveaway

Joe Biden formed an aboriginal ballot successful the 2024 US statesmanlike election connected Monday and deed retired astatine Elon Musk’s regular $1m currency giveaway to voters.

With small much than a week to spell earlier the US officially goes to the polls, the outgoing president voted for Democratic campaigner Kamala Harris. He voted astatine the authorities of Delaware Department of Elections adjacent to his location extracurricular Wilmington with hundreds of different aboriginal voters.

Earlier this month, Mr Musk, the world’s richest antheral and a vocal protagonist of Republican campaigner Donald Trump, announced helium was offering a regular accidental to triumph $1 cardinal to registered for signing a petition supporting the Constitution and the Second Amendment close to carnivore arms.

Asked aft casting his ballot what helium thought astir Mr Musk’s arguable scheme, Mr Biden said the giveaway was “totally inappropriate.”

The Philadelphia territory attorney’s bureau has already filed a lawsuit, accusing the tech billionaire and his America Pac radical of attempting to power voters successful the US statesmanlike predetermination with hopes of winning the currency prize.

The outgoing president added his encouragement for voters to instrumentality portion successful the tightly-contested poll, saying: “This predetermination is truthful important.”

Mr Biden chatted with voters arsenic helium waited successful enactment to formed his ballot, and helped propulsion a pistillate successful a wheelchair who was up of him. 

He waited successful enactment for astir 40 minutes earlier helium formed his ballot. He handed his recognition to the predetermination worker, who had him motion a signifier and announced: “Joseph Biden present voting."

As the president formed his ballot down a achromatic drape, immoderate first-time voters were announced and the country erupted successful cheers for them.

Mr Biden connected Sunday besides slammed Musk for hypocrisy connected migration aft a paper study that the X CEO erstwhile worked illegally successful the United States. South African-born Musk denies the allegation.

He told a run lawsuit successful Pittsburgh: “That wealthiest antheral successful the satellite turned retired to beryllium an amerciable idiosyncratic here. 

“No, I’m serious. He was expected to beryllium successful schoolhouse erstwhile helium came connected a pupil visa. He wasn’t successful school. He was violating the law. And he’s talking astir each these illegals coming our way?”

The Washington Post reported that Musk worked illegally successful the state portion connected a pupil visa, due to the fact that helium worked connected his start-up successful Palo Alto, California successful 1995 alternatively of enrolling connected postgraduate courses astatine Stanford University.

But Musk denied the assertion successful a station connected X, which helium bought successful 2022, writing: “I was successful information allowed to enactment successful the US.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Mr Biden endorsed aft dropping out, is vying to go the archetypal Black pistillate and archetypal idiosyncratic of South Asian descent to service arsenic president.

Polls amusement she has a pugnacious conflict successful cardinal battleground states to prevail, with galore showing a neck-and-neck contention betwixt her and Trump.