WASHINGTON (The Hill) — Former President Trump during an event in Alaska late Saturday called Tesla founder Elon Musk a “bulls— artist” for supporting the former president’s opponents in 2016 and 2020.
“He said the other day, ‘oh, I’ve never voted for a Republican,’” Trump said at a rally.
“I said, ‘I didn’t know that,’” Trump continued. “He told me he voted for me, so he’s another bulls— artist.”
Last month, Musk tweeted that he voted for a Republican for the first time as he supported Mayra Flores, a Republican who flipped a traditionally Democratic House seat in a Texas special election. The Tesla CEO donated to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, according to Federal Elections Commission data. Musk has since confirmed the donation. Musk said at the Qatar Economic Forum last month that he was “undecided” about a potential reelection bid by Trump after saying days earlier he was leaning toward supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2024.
Sources have told The Hill that Trump is becoming more serious about launching a run in 2024, even as other high-profile Republicans, like DeSantis, stoke speculation over their own White House ambitions. In the meantime, Trump has weighed in on a number of primary and general election races in this year’s midterms. He stumped in Alaska on Saturday in support of Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), Kelly Tshibaka, who is challenging moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), and former Gov. Sarah Palin (R).
“Another one of our highest priorities under Republican Congress will be to stop left-wing censorship and to restore free speech in America,” Trump said at the rally.
Musk had entered a deal to buy Twitter, vowing to reduce the platform’s content moderation in the name of free speech and to implement other features, like an edit button. On Friday, Musk announced he would abandon the $44 billion offer after he said the company failed to provide enough information about the number of fake accounts. Twitter said it would sue Musk to uphold the deal.
“Who the he— knows what’s going to happen,” Trump said. “He’s got a pretty rotten contract. I looked at his contract, not a good contract.”
Musk said he would reverse Trump’s ban on Twitter if he went through with buying the company, but Trump has said he would remain on his own social media platform, dubbed Truth Social. “Go out by the way while I’m here, and sign up now for Truth Social,” Trump said on Saturday. “It’s hot as a pistol.”
