Former President Donald Trump and his Republican National Committee allies hope to persuade tesla and space x CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention in July, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Republican leaders believe giving Musk a speaking slot at the convention could encourage some fans to back the party’s efforts. historically behind Sources familiar with the idea said support was growing among young adult voters on Election Day.
Trump was endorsed as the Republican presidential nominee at an event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is scheduled to face President Joe Biden in a 2020 rematch in this November’s election.
Musk’s role as a speaker was revealed when he reportedly Last weekend, he met with President Trump and wealthy Republican donors in Palm Beach, Florida. It is unclear whether President Trump or his allies raised the idea with Musk.
The sit-in took place just days before the former president won a landslide victory in the Super Tuesday primary, forcing his last major challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, to withdraw from the nomination race.
Those interviewed by CNBC for this article were granted anonymity to describe private conversations.
If Mr. Musk, who also owns the social media site
Peter Thiel, Musk’s longtime financial backer and co-founder of PayPal, served a similar purpose when he spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention, which first nominated Trump for president.
One of the sources noted that the RNC leadership’s interest in having Musk speak at the convention had already been discussed with outgoing RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel at a Houston committee meeting on Friday.
The person said new RNC chair Michael Whatley is likely to support inviting Musk to speak, as will new RNC co-chair Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law. It is said that
Representatives for Mr. Trump and the RNC did not respond to requests for comment.
Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
It remains to be seen whether the RNC will invite Musk or if Musk wants to attend the convention.
Musk, who is said to have a net worth of nearly $200 billion, said this week that he has no intention of donating money to the Trump and Biden campaigns.
But a person familiar with last weekend’s meeting in Florida said some of Trump’s advisers expect Mr. Musk to start supporting Republican candidates.
Musk has not publicly ruled out donating to pro-Trump political action committees or nonprofits that support the former president’s policies.
Mr. Musk previously announced his support for the Republican presidential nomination of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but Mr. DeSantis suspended his campaign in January following dismal preliminary results against Mr. Trump.
Mr. Musk also event Last year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is seeking the White House as an independent candidate, posted this on Twitter Space.
Musk did not support Trump in the last two Republican presidential campaigns (2016 and 2020).
And the two have clashed in the past.
In June 2017, Musk relinquished his position on President Trump’s advisory board due to the US’ withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.
In July 2022, President Trump slammed the billionaire, who said he had never voted Republican until voting for the Republican candidate in Texas for a special House election earlier that year.
“The other day he said, ‘Oh, I’ve never voted Republican,'” Trump said at the rally. “He said he voted for me, so he’s also a bull artist.”
Within days, Musk tweeted, “I don’t hate this guy, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat and sail off into the sunset. Democrats should also call off the attack. Trump. I don’t want this to be his only way to survive.” He will regain the presidency. ”
Although Musk continues to describe himself as a “moderate,” his public political rhetoric has drifted to the right over the years.
And his social and political comments in posts about X have become more bombastic since late 2022, when he led a leveraged buyout of the social media company then known as Twitter.
In early 2022, Musk said he would vote Republican instead of Democrat in that year’s midterm congressional elections.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, as voters across the country cast their votes in the presidential primary, Musk baselessly accused Biden of “treason” and criticized the United States’ handling of immigrants.
When Mr. Musk took control of said it would reinstate its account on the platform.
The riot disrupted a joint session of Congress for several hours that was being held to certify Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Mr. Trump, who has since started his own social media company, Truth Social, previously said he had no intention of returning to Company X even if Mr. Musk rescinded the ban.
Trump made an exception to that pledge last summer, posting a jailhouse photo taken after he was indicted on a Georgia criminal charge that sought to reverse his 2020 presidential election loss to Biden. Ta.
The post links to Trump’s campaign website, where people can donate to his political action committee, which is funding his re-election efforts and mounting legal costs.
Thiel, a former Facebook board member, said: atlantic Last fall, he said he had no intention of helping financially. republican party Candidates including Trump.
Thiel also said in the interview that President Trump’s administration, which lasted from January 2017 to January 2021, was “crazier than I expected” and “dangerous.”
“We couldn’t make the most basic parts of our government work,” Thiel told the media. “So I think that part was probably worse than my low expectations.”