Dem
51
GOP
49
Donald Trump needs money and may soon have power. Elon Musk has money and would like power. Maybe the guy who "wrote" the The Art of the Deal could make, well, a deal. The idea would be that Musk would "loan" Trump, say, a billion dollars so he could stay various judges from seizing his assets while he is appealing various civil cases he has lost in the past and various criminal cases he might lose in the future. A second billion tossed into Trump's main super PAC would also be nice. Musk wouldn't even miss the money. What's the point of being the second-richest person in the world if you can't throw your money around?
In return, a future President Trump could give Musk whatever he would like. How about a federal law banning the sale of gasoline-powered cars starting in 2028? That would do wonders for Tesla's bottom line, since demand would go through the roof, along with what Musk could charge per car. Or maybe Musk would like one of his flunkies to be secretary of commerce? The sky's the limit. The only thing Musk has to worry about is Trump's nasty habit of reneging on all his promises, so he would need some serious collateral. And, of course, if Trump loses, at least some of that money is down the drain.
According to a report in The New York Times, Musk made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago recently. The Times reporters weren't present and nothing has leaked (so far), but the smart money is guessing that the main subject of discussion was money and what it can buy. From Musk's recent posts and interviews with insiders, it is clear that one of Musk's top priorities is seeing that Joe Biden is defeated in November.
But in the end, it was probably all for naught. Yesterday afternoon, Musk tweeted: "Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President." Musk didn't say anything about posting a bond for Trump, but that seems unlikely after the tweet. (V)