Surprise: Elon Musk Says He’s Not Actually Donating $45 Million a Month to Trump

Day Donald Trump selected JD Vance as his companion, Elon Musk reported pledged to donate $45 million a month to a super PAC he co-founded to support the former president. But in a interview with the eccentric right-wing influencer Jordan Peterson On Tuesday, the billionaire appeared to back off that record number, calling it The Wall Street Journal‘s reports of his promised contributions were “untrue”.

“I’m not donating $45 million a month to Trump,” Musk told Peterson. He donated to the super PAC he co-founded, which he said supports “meritocracy” and deregulation—not “hyperpartisan” causes. “I’m donating some money to America PAC,” he said. added later“but to a much lesser extent.”

It’s unclear how much Musk financially supports Trump, whom he continued to support in his conversation with Peterson. “The Republican Party is really the meritocratic party in my opinion,” he said, criticizing Democrats for “pushing DEI”—a right-wing bogeyman and a ugly attack line Some in the GOP have used it against the Vice President Kamala Harrispresumptive Democratic nominee. Musk, however, noted that he is not exactly MAGA, but MAGAZINE (“Make America Great Again”).

Musk’s conditional praise—as well as his promise to cut back on his donations—could frustrate the Trump campaign, which appears to be counting on Musk to help counter the fundraising record Harris has set since becoming president. Joe Biden has abandoned his re-election bid and passed the torch to the vice president. “Elon is a blank check,” as one Republican source close to Trump said. speak My colleagues Gabriel Sherman. “He invested in this.”

Musk, the person be confirm Trump, on his X platform after the attempted assassination of the former president this month, has become a celebrity on the MAGA right; just mentioning his name drew cheers of approval from the crowd at the Republican National Convention last week. His conversation with Peterson—filled with ten-dollar words for ten-cent ideas about “Mindfulness Virus” and more—understood why. But was he a “blank check” for the Trump campaign? “What has been reported in the media,” Musk told Peterson, “is completely untrue.”