Elon Musk announced Friday that if Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis runs for President in 2024, he would support him as political momentum continues swinging toward the Sunshine State leader.
The new Twitter owner declared his hypothetical support for DeSantis after tweeting that his “preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist.”
“Would you support Ron DeSantis in 2024, Elon?” Twitter user ProudElephantUS asked in response.
“Yes,” replied Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
Musk’s announcement comes less than two weeks into Trump’s third campaign for the presidency. The former president launched his campaign beset by several lawsuits but so far has no challenger for his party’s nomination.
There will surely be at least a handful of challengers as the race heats up.
Musk’s support for DeSantis also comes as a few of Trump’s larger political supporters defect. A top Republican donor recently said DeSantis could be the party’s future, and a leading Trump donor disavowed the former president for the next cycle.
Musk has been critical of Trump’s policies and personality over the years, as reported by Intelligencer, but reversed Trump’s Twitter ban as a matter of principle after acquiring the social media site. He previously indicated he was leaning toward DeSantis for president over the summer.
In the Twitter thread, Musk said he “was a significant supporter of the Obama-Biden presidency and (reluctantly) voted for Biden over Trump.” He said he “had hoped” Biden’s administration would be “sensible and centrist,” but he has been “disappointed so far.”
Musk has made political contributions to Democrats and Republicans almost equally since 2002, according to Insider. He has given $32,500 more to Republicans, but his biggest single donation – $50,000 in 2015 – was to Rahm Emmanuel, then the Democratic mayor of Chicago.
DeSantis, who resoundingly won a second four-year term as governor in the midterm election this month, has given little direct indication he intends to run for president. But he has long been considered a possible successor to Trump, and seen as a more disciplined and polished Republican who still commands the respect of the former president’s base.
After endorsing his 2018 run for governor, Trump has repeatedly attacked DeSantis in recent months. In a rare counter-attack, DeSantis told people to “check out the scoreboard” from the midterm election, when Trump-endorsed candidates roundly lost and DeSantis crushed his opponent by 19 points.
