Donald Trump got really, really excited recently. He gleefully
told a crowd at a rally in Michigan that
billionaire Elon Musk had pledged to donate $45 million per month to Trump's presidential campaign fund.
Of course he would. Musk is currently
the richest person in the entire world, and he enjoys using that kind of power flippantly. Back in 2022,
he briefly fake-offered to solve world hunger with a small fragment ($6 million) of his excess money. When experts in the field offered him proposals that would actually work - saving 42 million people from starvation in 43 countries - he suddenly went silent and wasn't interested
But if he has an extra $45 million to give away every month, he absolutely should solve world hunger - just like he promised. Sign the petition to demand Elon Musk put his excessive money where his mouth is and actually use his grotesque wealth for something noble!Musk has since clarified that actually, he created a super political-action committee (super PAC), called the America PAC, instead to support Trump and other candidates, and that's where he'll be donating his money. So it won't be going directly to Trump - but it will still get to him, albeit through the shadow-y workings of famously non-transparent super PACs.
PACs and super PACs are horrible for American democracy because they amplify the role of money in politics. In particular,
super PACs allow billionaires, millionaires, and corporations to donate unlimited amounts of money, which can then be funneled towards a specific candidate or lobbying cause.
This is how corporations and the rich buy elections and lawmakers. And it's what Elon Musk wants to perpetuate - now with his own secretive, money-bloated super PAC to get politicians to do his bidding.
Whether Musk is donating $45 million per month directly to Trump, or indirectly through his super PAC, it's absolutely revolting. If Elon Musk is so disgustingly rich that he can afford to throw away a casual $45 million every month, he needs to do so in a way that does some good for humanity.
Since he had already promised to solve world hunger, it's time for him to follow through on that offer instead of funding a politician who will take away people's rights and condemn the planet to worsening climate change! Sign the petition now!
Photo by Bret Harman / TED 2017 on Flickr.