Former US President Donald Trump is considering the possibility of appointing billionaire Elon Musk as a policy adviser if he were to regain the White House after the upcoming November presidential election, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
The report cites people familiar with discussions between Trump and Musk, stating that the two have explored ways for Musk, who oversees companies such as X, SpaceX, and Tesla, to have “formal input and influence” over economic and border security policies within a potential Trump administration.
Musk has informed Trump about his ongoing efforts to sway influential business leaders in the United States to refrain from supporting the re-election campaign of the incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden, who defeated Trump in the 2020 election but is now seeking a second term.
These discussions, which also involved billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, reportedly included talks about funding a “data-driven project to prevent voter fraud,” although the outlet did not provide additional details on this matter.
While representatives for Trump and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, Brian Hughes, told the Wall Street Journal that only Trump himself would decide “what role an individual plays in his presidency.” The report also mentioned that Musk did not respond to their requests for comment.
In March, following a meeting with Trump in Florida, Musk, one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, stated that he would not financially contribute to either Trump’s or Biden’s campaign. Instead, as reported by the Wall Street Journal citing a person familiar with Musk’s thinking, he aims “to use his clout… to help defeat Biden by galvanizing the support of influential allies.”
The report highlights Musk’s increasing alignment with the Republican Party in recent years. Musk has made unsubstantiated claims that Biden is intentionally allowing migrants to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, and he has also endorsed antisemitic comments on X, although Musk has denied harboring any antisemitic views himself.
While Musk has publicly criticised Biden’s policies on issues such as immigration, electric vehicles, and tariffs, he has not formally endorsed either candidate in the upcoming November contest. Trump, on the other hand, has stated that he is uncertain whether he has Musk’s support.
Trump, a prolific user of the social media platform X, before being banned following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, launched his own rival platform called Truth Social, owned by Trump Media and Technology Group Corp.