Is Elon Musk a Ron DeSantis Supporter Now?

Musk is moving rightward politically, but reports of a DeSantis alliance seem exaggerated—for now.

Elon Musk addresses guests at the Offshore Northern Seas 2022 (ONS) meeting in Stavanger, Norway on August 29, 2022. CARINA JOHANSEN/NTB/AFP via Getty

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may have a rich and powerful supporter in his expected presidential campaign: Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Or, he might not.

Despite reports that Musk would back DeSantis in 2024, the delivery of the message gives pause: Musk announced (if you can call it that) his DeSantis support vaguely with a one-word tweet. Asked by a user if he would support DeSantis for president, Musk responded: “Yes.” 

That’s it.

This is not the same thing as Musk announcing his preferred candidate—as the New York Post quickly interpreted the tweet. I suppose it is an indication of where Musk is headed politically. But we’ve had ample evidence of that for some time.

Musk’s approving tweet about DeSantis came in a thread about his political leanings shifting from Democrats to Republicans.

“I was a significant supporter of the Obama-Biden presidency and (reluctantly) voted for Biden over Trump,” Musk shared over Twitter. “My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would [be] the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far.” 

The day before the midterm elections, Musk asked his millions of followers on Twitter to support Republicans, arguing that Congress and the president should be held by different parties. 

But back in May, Musk had explained that he planned to vote Republican in the midterms because Democrats had been mean to him recently.

Musk’s rightward shift means he is likely to back a Republican in 2024, or perhaps many, even changing his mind frequently. But Musk’s greatest gift to Republicans so far is his desire to roll back the site’s content moderation in the name of freedom of speech.

According to the Washington Post, the first five days of Musk’s ownership were marked by a resurgence of QAnon conspiracy activity and election disinformation that circulated without warning labels that Twitter used to apply to such content.

When it comes to whether or not Musk actually will support DeSantis, it’s probably best to consider the source. Most things you see on Twitter should be double-checked. We’ll have to see if Musk does actually follow through.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate