Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday accused the media of encouraging the assassination of him and former President Trump with “relentless hit pieces.”
“With their relentless hit pieces, legacy mainstream media are actively encouraging the assassination of @realDonaldTrump and now me,” he wrote in a post on his social media platform X.
The post was accompanied by a screenshot of an article from the German news outlet Der Spiegel labeling the Tesla and SpaceX CEO “enemy number two,” alongside a photo that combined Musk’s and Trump’s faces.
Musk also linked to a clip of similar comments he made at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
“Anyway, so dramatically increasing my risk of being assassinated,” he said in the clip. “Engaging in politics [is] not what I want to do. I do not have a death wish. But the stakes are so high that I really have I feel I have no choice but to do it.”
The billionaire endorsed Trump shortly after an assassination attempt on the former president at a campaign rally in the Keystone State in July.
Just two months later, another man was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump after he was spotted poking a rifle through a fence at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Following Trump’s second assassination attempt, Musk faced criticism for a now-deleted post on X, saying “no one is even trying to assassinate” Vice President Harris. He later removed the post but maintained it was a “joke.”
The White House slammed Musk’s post at the time, calling it “irresponsible.”
“Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. “This rhetoric is irresponsible.”
Musk has taken on an increasingly active role in getting Trump elected in recent months, boosting the former president and his views on X. The billionaire also launched a pro-Trump super PAC, America PAC, to which he contributed $75 million.
America PAC has played a key role in the former president’s ground game in swing states. Musk has been particularly focused on Pennsylvania, holding a series of town halls in the battleground state over the weekend.
However, Musk and his super PAC have drawn scrutiny in recent days, after the billionaire announced that he plans to give $1 million to Pennsylvania voters who sign the PAC’s petition through Election Day. The petition voices support for free speech and the right to bear arms.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) on Sunday described Musk’s plan as “deeply concerning.”
“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.”
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