Speaking at an election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump brought a prominent supporter on stage: entrepreneur Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, X) told the crowd that the Republican must win "to preserve democracy in America". Trump hinted several times that Musk could be given a high-ranking post related to economic affairs if he becomes president. Europe's press reacts.
Oligarchic fusion of money and power
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Denmark’s Politiken sees this as a dangerous development:
“The threat to American democracy goes beyond Donald Trump. In reality, it is the combination of him and Elon Musk that poses a new, potent threat: an unprecedented fusion of money, strategic business interests and political influence. ... If Donald Trump is elected, Elon Musk could become the most powerful oligarch in American history.”
On the edge of legality
Musk has offered 47 dollars to registered voters in swing states who refer others to sign a petition supported by the Republicans. Is this not vote-buying? asks Italy’s Corriere della Sera:
“The buying of votes is illegal in Italy, as in the US. In the United States, where only those who are registered can vote, it is also illegal to pay people to sign up. ... Musk is not offering the money directly to those who register but has pledged to reward those who present him with a petition in support of the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution (freedom of speech and gun rights) instead. ... So technically, there is no payment for registration.”
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Hoping for a boomerang effect
Spanish Columnist Antón Losada hopes in eldiario.es that the duo will have a deterrent effect and mobilize undecided voters in the Democratic camp:
“The emergence on the campaign trail of someone whose ego is even bigger than Donald Trump's was the best thing that could have happened [for the Democrats]. ... Democracy is in danger, Musk has said. ... He knows what he's talking about because he is the danger. ... Few people today embody xenophobia, racism and predatory capitalist greed the way Elon does. His is the face we most associate with fake news used as a weapon of mass social destruction to protect personal interests. He could be the final argument that pushes Democratic voters to put their cross next to Kamala Harris's name on the ballot.”
Tailwind for the Republicans
Bulgaria’s Trump has better chances in this election than he did the last time round, Trud concludes:
“Twitter is now owned by Elon Musk, who has come out as a hardliner of Trump's MAGA movement, while Mark Zuckerberg has been holding back since officially admitting before the US Congress that Facebook was involved in massive manipulation during the last election. But even if there has been an upward trend in his favor in recent days in the swing states that will decide the outcome of the election battle, Trump hasn't won yet.”
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