Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has announced that he will significantly reduce his political spending after heavily backing Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. The move comes as a reversal of the large amount of money Musk invested in Trump’s campaign.
Musk made the statement during a Bloomberg forum in Doha, Qatar, saying he believes he has “done enough” and will spend “a lot less” on political campaigns in the future. This decision could be a setback for Republicans ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
In 2024, Musk was among the top donors to America PAC, a super PAC supporting Trump. He spent at least $250 million on the campaign, including funding door-to-door canvassing groups and headlining rallies with Trump. However, his efforts were met with defeat in April when a Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel lost to an opponent by 10 percentage points.
Musk’s involvement in politics was part of his role as adviser to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aimed to reduce federal spending and implement deep cuts across various agencies. However, critics say this approach has had negative consequences, including destroying much of the nation’s apolitical civil service and impairing services for vulnerable populations.
Despite this, Musk expressed no intention to change his mind about campaign spending. He stated that he would only engage in political spending if he sees a reason to do so, emphasizing that there is currently “no reason.”
Source: https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-campaign-donations-ff47d9b4cf02b2e63633edf37823c8ff