Elon Musk said on Friday that he will join Donald Trump at an election rally tomorrow in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president narrowly escaped an assassination attempt last July.
Trump won the presidency in 2017 and now faces an extraordinarily tight reelection campaign for a second term; Pennsylvania is again looking like a pivotal swing state. Musk will be joined at the rally by Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, and his son, Eric Trump.
Musk showed support by posting on the social media site X: he retweeted Trump’s promotional message for the rally. The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has, in recent months, been warming up with Trump after the assassination attempt against the former president killed one Trump supporter and injured several others.
After the incident, Musk posted his support for Trump on his platform: “Feel better soon. The martyr lived.” A gunman opened fire on July 13, grazing Trump’s ear, but killed Corey Comperatore, a supporter who was at the rally.
With the election in November, Musk has taken his politicization to new heights in the past times, frequently expressing allegiance with Trump and ridicule towards Democrats. Most recently, Musk inflamed outrage with a provocative post that suggested no one was trying to assassinate either President Biden or VP Harris, and then later he dismissed it as a joke after backlash.
Musk even announced a $45 million contribution to America PAC, a political action committee supporting Trump’s re-election. In turn, Trump has praised Musk’s leadership enough to endorse his management style, including firing employees who protest working conditions.
The rally by Butler served as a grim reminder of the political violence that holds the U.S. hostage, with discussions on security measures protecting Trump becoming more insistent. Already, the July assassination attempt has cast aspersions on preparedness by the Secret Service. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by returning fire from snipers.
There was also a case where Trump became the focal point of a botched assassination attempt at his Florida golf course; the suspect in that case, Ryan Routh, has pleaded not guilty to a battery of charges, including attempted assassination.
People from all walks of life will join the Butler rally, including family members of the deceased Trump supporter and emergency responders who took part in the July incident. The Trump campaign framed the rally as a demonstration of the resolve of the American spirit, which would not be cowed by the violent acts committed to suppress democracy.
