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Topline
Prospective Twitter buyer Elon Musk proclaimed Wednesday he will no longer back Democrats, making a vow to “vote Republican,” in a tweet that became his latest to dominate the social media platform he hopes to soon own.
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, attends the opening of the Tesla factory Berlin Brandenburg in Gruenheide, … [+]
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Key Facts
Musk lambasted Democrats as the “party of division & hate,” marking the latest in a string of attacks the billionaire has made against the political left, which have significantly escalated since Twitter’s board accepted a $44 billion deal for him to buy the platform on April 25.
Musk’s tweet echoed comments he made in an appearance at a tech conference on Tuesday, where he announced he planned to vote Republican in an upcoming election (Musk is registered to vote in Texas—it’s not clear which election he was referring to), despite perhaps having “never” voted for a Republican in the past.
Wednesday’s tweet immediately garnered widespread attention, amassing around 75,000 retweets and more than 200,000 likes in about an hour.
Crucial Quote
“I can no longer support them and will vote Republican,” Musk tweeted of Democrats. “Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold …”
Key Background
Musk calls himself a political moderate and has promised to make Twitter a bastion of free speech if his deal to buy the company goes through, tweeting on April 27: “For Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally.” But critics have expressed doubt about that future vision of Twitter, given Musk’s rampant denouncements of the left, which have recently featured buzzwords like “lib hivemind” and “woke mind virus” commonly associated with right-wing attacks. Musk also claims Twitter as a company has an extreme left-wing bias, which he said has been used to silence conservative voices on the platform—comments that were welcomed by Republicans and strong supporters of President Donald Trump in particular. Musk last week said he plans to lift Trump’s Twitter ban that began shortly after the Capitol riot, which he called a “flat-out stupid” decision, but Trump responded by saying he intends to stay on his own social media platform, Truth Social, and has no plans to go back to Twitter if reinstated.
Surprising Fact
Musk has donated to numerous Republican candidates and organizations in the past, along with Democrats, despite claiming to have never voted for the GOP. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are among the beneficiaries of Musk’s past political donations.
What To Watch For
Musk announced last week his deal to buy Twitter was being put “on hold,” saying Twitter had failed to back up its claim that fake or spam accounts made up less than 5% of users. Twitter’s stock has tanked as investors worry Musk’s deal to buy the company at $54.20 a share will fall apart. Twitter was trading at $36.88 Wednesday afternoon—nearly 32% below the share price in Musk’s offer. Twitter’s board said Tuesday it still expects to “close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement.”
Further Reading
How Musk Already Owns Twitter: The 8 Top Tweets In The Past Week (Forbes)
Musk Says He Would Lift ‘Foolish’ Twitter Ban On Trump (Forbes)
Elon Musk Says Twitter Deal ‘On Hold’ (Forbes)
Former President Donald Trump Says He Won’t Come Back To Twitter : Pushing Truth Social (Forbes)
