In a series of town halls, tech billionaire Elon Musk has sought to harness his power as an influencer to help return Donald Trump to the White House.
On Sunday night, billionaire Elon Musk, in a pitch-black Make America Great Again hat, took the stage at Madison Square Garden to introduce former President Donald Trump to a packed audience of MAGA supporters.
« I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark Gothic MAGA », Musk said, drawing applause.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Musk was in Pennsylvania, speaking to over 1,200 voters at a packed town hall organized by his political action committee, America PAC, where fans from around the state came to see the tech titan who has thrown his support — and millions of dollars — behind Trump’s presidential campaign.
Musk, appearing without Trump, spent nearly three hours fielding questions from supporters who asked the billionaire everything from advice on how to raise their daughters to how he would fix the United States educational system. And while Saturday’s town hall may have been aimed at helping boost Trump’s chances in the state, it was clear throughout the night why many of the attendees came out.
« Elon Musk — I mean, he’s my hero », Austin, a 29-year-old electrician from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, . « I’m mainly here to see him. »A ‘national treasure’
In the lead-up to Election Day, Musk has embarked on an unprecedented effort to help Trump win the election — investing millions from his vast fortune into America PAC, which is saturating key battleground states with ads while spearheading Trump’s field operations. But the world’s richest man is also hoping to help Trump by harnessing his power as an influencer — a strategy that has been on display at the series of town halls he’s been holding around the state.
For Musk diehards like Austin, it might be working.
« I probably wouldn’t be willing to come out to the event », Austin said when asked if he would have attended just for the political content. « I don’t think I care enough to come to an event — but with Elon Musk here, absolutely. »
Many of the questions at Saturday’s town hall focused on issues facing the country, but attendees often turned their focus to Musk himself, with fans heaping praise on the billionaire and using their time to ask for personal advice — or even pitch Musk on a business opportunity.
