3 billionaires endorse Trump in US presidential race
Three billionaires endorsed Donald Trump for US president on Saturday.
Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, publicly endorsed Trump following an attempt to kill the former president, calling the Republican politician “tough.”
Musk, the world’s richest person, posted the endorsement with a video of Trump with blood on his face pumping his fist after multiple shots rang out at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Trump was safe.
The posts cement Musk’s shift towards right-wing politics and hand Trump a high-profile backer in his quest to return to the White House in the Nov. 5 election.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk posted on his social media platform X.
“The martyr lived,” he wrote in a later post, citing a reported debate between conservative venture capitalist Peter Thiel and LinkedIn cofounder and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman.
Musk later posted a photograph of Trump at the event, followed by: “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
Musk has said he previously voted for Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton as well as Biden.
‘Empirical data’
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman also endorsed Trump in the Republican’s rematch race against Biden, shortly after Trump was shot in the ear at a campaign rally.
“I am going to formally endorse @realDonaldTrump,” Ackman posted on social media platform X. “I assure you that I have made this decision carefully, rationally and by relying on as much empirical data as possible.”
Ackman’s endorsement marks a change from 2021. After the attack by Trump supporters on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, Ackman posted that Trump should “resign and apologize to all Americans.”
‘Perilous moment’
The chief executive and portfolio manager of Pershing Square Capital Management said he had recently spent a few hours with Trump but did not explain the reasoning behind his endorsement.
He said it would take another long-form post to lay out his thinking. “I just haven’t had the time nor felt the urgency to write the post as we are still a few months from the election,” he said.
Ackman’s endorsement did not mention Saturday’s shooting. He alluded to it in a later post: “We are in the midst of a perilous moment for our democracy.”
“I came to this decision some time ago as many X followers have already understood from my supportive posts of Trump and my criticisms of Biden,” Ackman said. He has 1.3 million followers on X.
Ackman had considered endorsing Trump as recently as May, and had planned to announce his support on X, Reuters and other media outlets reported.
Meanwhile, Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur and Tron founder Justin Sun endorsed Trump saying “He is a better choice for the crypto industry and can ensure fairer treatment,” he said.
