Trump met with Elon Musk for a potential campaign donation: NYT – Business Insider
Former President Donald Trump met with Elon Musk in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday as the former seeks out more donors for his reelection, The New York Times reported, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the meeting.
Several wealthy GOP donors were also in attendance as Trump’s campaign is actively looking for big donors, the outlet reported. The general election in the fall is all but certain to be a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden.
Trump’s donor outreach comes as President Joe Biden continues to best his predecessor in amassing cash before the large campaign expenditures begin in earnest. Biden’s campaign started last month with $56 million on hand compared to Trump’s campaign, which had just over $30 million. Trump and his allies have also spent major money on legal fees, a pro-Trump PAC spent over $52 million on legal fees last year alone.
One source who has spoken with Trump about Musk told the Times he is a fan of the billionaire and would like to have a one-on-one meeting with him, too.
It’s unclear if Musk is planning to donate to Trump’s campaign.
Musk is an interesting choice for a potential big donor. The tech mogul may have forked over $44 billion to buy Twitter, but the one-time richest man has historically world spent relatively little on political causes.
He spent $725,750 on political campaigns for candidates of both parties from 2004 to 2020, per OpenSecrets. In just one comparison, billionaire shipping mogul Richard “Dick” Uihlein and his wife, Elizabeth “Liz” Uihlein, spent $50 million in just one race in 2022 alone, trying to oust Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker.
Unlike Biden, Trump could use his wealth to fund a significant portion of his campaign. But the former president has been historically resistant to using his own money. Trump also owes New York over $454 million as a result of a civil fraud judgment, a ruling that he’s appealing but still most post a significant sum up as that process unfolds.
Musk has shown an increasing openness to supporting Republican candidates. Before the 2022 midterms, Musk urged his followers to vote for Republicans. Earlier in the 2024 GOP primaries, the Tesla CEO favored Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who launched his presidential campaign on Twitter to disastrous results. DeSantis has since dropped out and endorsed Trump.
As for Musk, he told The Times late last year that choosing between Biden and Trump would be “definitely a difficult choice.” He did make it clear he would not vote for Biden, but refused to say he would back the former president.
Representatives for Trump and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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