Tesla and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has stirred social media platform X with his latest comment on the potential outcome of next week’s general election in the United States. Musk hinted at a 69.420% Trump victory amid a sharp uproar following President Joe Biden’s garbage remarks.
Elon Musk’s social media post followed remarks by Doge Designer that indicated Republican Party candidate Donald Trump led the polls with 67.0% compared to Democratic Party candidate Kamal Harris, whose rating stood at 33.2%.
A Backlash from Republicans
This happens at a time when President Joe Biden has undergone sharp criticism following allegations he referred to Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage” after an incident at a Trump rally where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe was featured. During the said rally, Hinchcliffe allegedly referred to Puerto Rico as “an island of garbage,” and Biden reportedly replied that “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” The statement immediately triggered a serious backlash from Republican Party figures.
Trump reacted by claiming Biden’s statements showed Kamala Harris and Biden had revealed their unfitness to lead Americans since no one could lead people they don’t love. Following the controversy, Biden’s White House staff sought to put things straight with a clarification on the President’s remarks. A White House official released a transcript that showed Biden’s garbage remarks were aimed at Hinchcliffe’s offensive rhetoric and not Trump’s supporters. Taking to his X page, Biden himself explained his comments, saying, “The hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico as ‘garbage’ does not reflect American values.”
Crude and Racist Jokes During Campaigns
The post by Elon Musk has garnered considerable attention as Donald Trump and his allies have continued to use inflammatory language during the closing days of the campaigns. According to some reports, Trump has been accused of repeatedly ridiculing his competitor Kamala Harris and is quoted to have called her “mentally impaired” at one point.
Trump has also allegedly referred to CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper using a female name, which has evoked a trove of gay men as effeminate. A series of crude and racist jokes are also said to have been used during Trump’s latest rally at Madison Square Garden, where the Hinchliffe made the “floating island of garbage.”
Backlash Following Biden’s Garbage Remarks
A strong supporter of Donald Trump, Elon Musk seems to be playing a pivotal role during the current election cycle, where Democratic Party supporters are looking for any opportunity to turn the support into a weakness. The Kamala Harris support base led by Future Forward USA Action recently produced ads that sow their heaviest rotation compared to all other ads on swing state screens so far in October.
According to ad tracker AdImpact, the ads were based on Trump’s association with Elon Musk and other wealthy donors. Both Trump and Musk have been quoted separately referring to Kamala Harris as “Comrade Kamala,” allegedly implying that she would most likely implement socialist policies if elected as President during next week’s election.
In one of the ads, there was a shot of Elon Musk quoting a tuxedo voter in Pennsylvania, saying, “The 1% don’t serve anybody but themselves.” The anti-Elon Musk sentiment during the ongoing campaign has recently ramped up, with some evidence showing Musk’s popularity had some limits as far as the undecided voters were concerned. The group responsible for those ads has been burning the midnight oil with more Musk-centric ads said to cost over $100 million as the election campaigns hit the home stretch.
Conclusion
The ongoing controversy surrounding a tweet by Elon Musk, a renowned Bitcoin holder, and the comments surrounding Biden’s garbage remarks underscore how apparent offhand remarks are being used to shape political narrative besides igniting online discourse a few days before next week’s election.
Tension remains high between the opposing camps even as enthusiasts use social media to amplify every statement and supporters leverage such moments to try and win any voters who could be sitting on the fence to their side in this closely contested presidential race.
