With just one day left until Election Day, billionaire businessman and Twitter owner Elon Musk is making a recommendation to voters.
“To independent-minded voters,” Musk began in a tweet on Monday morning. “Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.”
To independent-minded voters:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.
His tweet comes as polling analytics site FiveThirtyEight gives Republicans an 83-in-100 chance of winning the House. Additionally, it gives them a 55-in-100 chance of winning the Senate.
The eccentric businessman has dropped some hints about his political views over the past year.
In June, he shared that he voted for Rep. Mayra Flores (R-Texas), and it was the “first time I ever voted Republican.” But when asked if he was going to vote for a Republican for president, he responded, “Tbd.”
I voted for Mayra Flores – first time I ever voted Republican.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 15, 2022
Massive red wave in 2022.
However, Musk appeared to imply he would support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2024.
He has been critical of President Joe Biden, so his tweet Monday probably does not come as that big of a surprise.
The president and Democrats have been hammering home the idea that democracy will be at risk if certain Republicans win their elections. And to be fair, we should want candidates who will accept election results and do not lob unfounded attacks at our democratic system and institutions.
Undermining faith in elections is bad whether it comes from Republicans or Democrats.
But Biden’s message to voters comes off as hollow, especially after he refused to condemn Democratic spending to prop up election deniers in the Republican primaries.
And it is also a kind of moral bullying: Vote for Democrats or America as you know it will be destroyed.
A historian on MSNBC went so far as to suggest that if Democrats lose, Americans’ children will be arrested and killed.
Musk’s tweet exposes a key part missing from Biden’s closing argument ahead of the election.
In return for voting for Democrats, what would conservatives get? A Congress with expanded Democratic majorities paving the way for Biden to ram through a progressive wishlist that most conservatives would probably oppose.
Voters may care about the health of our democracy. But they also care about making sure they can afford groceries and gas and that they feel safe. And with polls showing concerns about the economy and inflation at the front of voters’ minds, it seems they are blaming Democrats for the pain and want to slam the breaks on their agenda.