In the United States, electoral campaigns are often big-money stories in which support comes with millions of dollars. Elon Musk has chosen his side, planning to donate about $45 million a month to a group supporting Donald Trump's presidential campaign, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Created at the end of May, 'America PAC' is a super PAC, a 'political action committee,' a legal entity not connected to a campaign team. While it cannot directly finance a candidate, it is authorized to carry out support actions such as advertising campaigns or field activities.
America PAC dedicates its resources to encouraging Republican supporters in states likely to swing to Trump's side to register to vote. For those registered, the group encourages them to request to vote by mail or take advantage of early voting windows.
Among the donors to 'America PAC' are the brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, known for their conflicts with Mark Zuckerberg at the creation of Facebook and more recently, for their investments in cryptocurrencies. The list also includes Douglas Leone, a partner at the private equity firm Sequoia Capital, and Antonio Gracias, who was a director of Tesla from 2007 to 2021.
Elon Musk's name does not appear in the list of contributors to the super PAC, which had raised $8.75 million at the end of June. However, the world's richest man plans to start giving this month. In March, Musk said he would not financially support any candidate, but shortly after the attack on Donald Trump, he publicly declared his support for the former president.
If Musk's intentions come to fruition, it would be one of the largest donations made by an individual in a U.S. electoral campaign. For the 2024 election, the largest publicly known donation to date is from Tim Mellon, heir to the Mellon bank, who entrusted $50 million to another super PAC supporting Donald Trump. Since the start of the campaign, Mellon has shed more than 100 million dollars, most of it in favor of the Republicans but also a fraction to support the independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy.
- The Wall Street Journal reports that the America PAC committee aims to convince voters to vote early, especially in swing states, in an attempt to counter Joe Biden's campaign, which has invested millions in the 'Swing States'.
