“I don’t worry about money,” Donald Trump told Fox News on Tuesday when asked about having to pay over $455 million thanks to his New York fraud trial. But maybe he does? The former president has yet to fork over the scratch (for that, and for the latest E. Jean Carroll suit), which is rapidly accruing interest. What’s more, it looks like he’s going to clinch his third presidential nomination, which means he needs money. Perhaps some generous soul, someone far richer than he is, will bail him out. Perhaps that generous soul is the second richest person in the world.
Per The New York Times, on Sunday Trump reportedly met with Elon Musk — who just surrendered the title of richest person in the world to Jeff Bezos — plus a few wealthy Republican donors. It’s not known what they discussed, but Trump is on the hunt for additional major donors to take on the moneyed Joe Biden campaign.
Will Musk give Trump what he wants? Possibly. The sloppy Tesla/Space X/Twitter/X honcho, who has donated to both parties over the years, has been drifting rightward of late, enraged by what he calls “the work mind virus.” He’s even told his 100 million followers on his social media service that they should vote for a Republican Congress. Musk could very well singlehandedly wipe out the huge financial advantage Trump’s presidential successor has over him.
Though Trump has crushed polls and primaries alike — Super Tuesday predictably appears to be strongly in his favor — there are signs that he shouldn’t be so cocky. His last GOP rival standing, Nikki Haley, has not only refused to leave the race but has suggested she won’t back him if/when he does. Her supporters don’t seem to like him much, including one who called him a “lunatic” and implied that she won’t vote for either Biden or him come November.
And so congrats to Trump-voting Republicans: Your boy could very well be relying on the kindness of wealthy strangers.
(Via NYT)