US President Donald Trump’s White House is at odds with the US diplomat in Romania over the recent presidential election, which saw centrist Nicusor Dan win in a landslide victory. The winner’s defeat of hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians leader George Simion has drawn criticism from two key Trump advisers: billionaire Elon Musk and investor David Sacks.
Musk took to his social media platform X to question the legitimacy of the election, suggesting that Romania’s democracy was under threat. He also amplified an accusation by Telegram founder Pavel Durov that the French government had asked him to ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of the election.
Sacks also shared a post on X accusing Romanian authorities of mounting a “quiet coup” against pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu, who was barred from the ballot. However, fact-checkers have found no evidence to support this claim, and Georgescu’s disqualification was based on Romanian law.
The US embassy in Romania had announced that it would be observing the election, with interim head of mission Michael L. Dickerson congratulating President-elect Dan on his win. The State Department has declined to comment on the situation.
The criticism from Musk and Sacks comes after both have expressed support for Russia’s position in its war against Ukraine. This is not an isolated incident, as both men have a history of pushing right-wing politics in various countries, including Europe.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/trumps-tech-advisers-question-romanian-election-odds-us-diplomat-rcna207803