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Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s sudden bond suggests something more clandestine may be going on “behind the scenes,” California Governor Gavin Newson has warned.
The governor appeared on MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki on Sunday, just one day after the Silicon Valley tech tycoon announced he will hand out $1m per day to an American who signs his AmericaPAC’s petition.
The controversial giveaway – which some experts say could be illegal – prompted Newsom to join a growing chorus of Democrats sounding the alarm about the world’s richest man’s involvement in the 2024 election as well as his growing closeness to Trump.
“It’s what we know and what we don’t know. We do know he has contributed at least $75m to the Trump campaign. We know he’s out there campaigning for him,” Newsom said.
The Democratic governor voiced fears about what might be going on behind closed doors between the two allies.
“I have known Elon for over 20, 25 years. One of America’s great entrepreneurs and innovators, but this is not the person I knew even two years ago,” he said.
“And with respect to Elon, I just don’t have the confidence that there’s other things that he’s not up to behind the scenes – not just what he is expressing quite publicly.”
He continued: “I’m very concerned about our country, where people like Elon Musk and others that are sucking up to Donald Trump, will undoubtedly be carved out of regulations, undoubtedly get massive, even larger federal contracts.”
Newsom went on to warn that Musk’s “sucking up” to the former president may lead to the formation of an “oligarchy” if Trump returns to the Oval Office.
“I mean, it is an American oligarchy that can be formed here. It’s getting very, very serious. I hope people are paying attention to what is going on and those that are sucking up to Donald Trump right now,” the governor said.
“And unfortunately, seeing this from Elon Musk breaks my heart a little bit, again, as someone who really admires his entrepreneurial and innovative tendencies, and we are all beneficiaries from that as it relates to vehicles and issues related to the work he has done in space...”
Musk is continuing to cement his place in Trump’s inner circle, as election day draws ever closer.
The Tesla boss announced his endorsement of Trump and the Republican party on July 13 – the day the former president survived an assassination attempt at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Since then, he has become increasingly involved in Trump’s campaign.
Musk joined the former president on stage when he returned to Butler for a rally earlier this month.
Meanwhile, a filing from the Federal Election Commission shows Musk has donated close to $75m to the Trump campaign.
Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has also staunchly promoted the former president’s presidential bid on his social media platform X and has said he would happily take a role in a second Trump administration.
Despite his current close ties to Trump and the Republican party, the billionaire previously donated to Newsom’s 2014 lieutenant governor reelection bid.
But their relationship turned sour when Musk moved his Tesla headquarters to the typically red stronghold of Texas in 2021, slamming California’s “overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation.”
Despite their differences, Newsom sided with Musk last week when he sued the California Coastal Commission for rejecting SpaceX’s plans to increase rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara, accusing the agency of political bias. “I’m with Elon,” said Newsom.
