Elon Musk says he will back Donald Trump rival in 2024 if he runs for president
2 min read . Updated: 26 Nov 2022, 12:36 PM IST
Premium- Elon Musk said in June that he was leaning toward a DeSantis endorsement, and the two men have exchanged acclaim for one another
Elon Musk, who has never shied away from talking about his political preferences, on Saturday said he would support Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida if he ran for president in 2024.
In a series of tweets, the new Twitter chief briefed about his political views saying, "My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far."
He called himself a “significant supporter of the Obama-Biden presidency and (reluctantly) voted for Biden over Trump."
When one of the people he was tweeting with asked if he’d back DeSantis in the next presidential election, Musk responded: “Yes."
Musk last week launched a poll for the reinstatement of Trump's account on Twitter.
It must be noted that Trump has also announced another run for the White House. Trump, whose account was suspended shortly after the assault on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters on 6 January 2021, has yet to post any new tweets.
“I’m fine with Trump not tweeting," Musk said on Twitter Friday night. “The important thing is that Twitter correct a grave mistake in banning his account, despite no violation of the law or terms of service. Deplatforming a sitting President undermined public trust in Twitter for half of America."
After Musk restored Trump’s Twitter account, civil rights leaders urged major advertisers to stay away from the social media platform. The activists said Musk broke promises he made to them in a closed-door meeting about hate speech and misinformation.
However, it has been a week since Trump has not tweeted anything. Trump is active on his own social media platform "Truth Social".
Trump is obligated to make most social media posts on Truth Social, according to a filing, although there’s an exception for political messages.
Musk said in June that he was leaning toward a DeSantis endorsement, and the two men have exchanged acclaim for one another.
Musk’s expression of support comes as many party leaders, including onetime Trump allies, have been talking up DeSantis as a more desirable standard bearer than the former president in the next election.
The Florida governor won a resounding re-election victory in the US midterm election, even as many of the Republican candidates championed by Trump went down to defeat.
Notably, in May, Musk tweeted that he had voted Democrat in the past, but "they have become the party of division and hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican."
"To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic," Musk tweeted.
"Hardcore Democrats or Republicans never vote for the other side, so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who's in charge!" he further added.
Earlier, Musk vowed to vote Republican in May earlier this year.
