Elon Musk said Friday he would support former President Donald Trump’s rival Ron DeSantis if the Florida governor runs for presidential office in 2024.
Musk replied “Yes” to a tweet asking him if he would back DeSantis in 2024 after sharing his disappointment with the Biden administration and listing what qualities he’s seeking in 2024.
“My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist,” Musk said in a tweet. “I had hoped that would the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far.”
The interaction occurred after Musk replied to a user acknowledging that Trump hadn’t tweeted since his Twitter account was reinstated.
“I’m fine with Trump not tweeting. The important thing is that Twitter correct a grave mistake in banning his account, despite no violation of the law or terms of service,” Musk said. “Deplatforming a sitting President undermined public trust in Twitter for half of America.”
Musk followed up with another tweet saying he was a strong supporter of former President Barack Obama’s administration and “reluctantly” voted for President Joe Biden over Trump. “But freedom of speech is the bedrock of a strong democracy and must take precedence,” he added.
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According to Forbes Magazine, Musk is the richest person in the world. As Twitter’s new owner, he reinstspanted Trump’s spanccount Nov. 19 after conducting an informal poll asking users if Trump should be allowed to return. More than 15 million users responded, however, it was unclear how many poll participants were verified users or bots.
Trump’s account was banned nearly two years ago for inciting violence during the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Despite being reinstated, Trump has yet to use it, opting, for now, to use the Truth Social app.
Support for a third presidential run by Trump is waning after a disappointing midterm, leaving the Senate in the hands of Democrats and flipping the House by a razor-thin margin.
While 54% of Republicans say Trump should be the party’s presidential nominee, 46% say it’s time for new party leadership – a slimmer margin than the 18-point advantage he held in August – spanccording to span November USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll.
DeSantis has emerged as one of Trump’s top potential rivals for the GOP nomination after embracing culture war issues in Florida, including attacking critical race theory and LGBTQ rights in schools. DeSantis cruised to re-election earlier this month.
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