Billionaires Elon Musk and Nelson Peltz are reportedly involved in an ongoing campaign in powerful networks to persuade influential business executives nationwide not to back President Joe Biden’s reelection effort, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Musk, who owns social media platform X, is a prominent critic of Biden and has faced many investigations stemming from the current president’s administration since purchasing the company, which was formerly called Twitter. Musk and others who share his political views have been organizing meetings to target Biden, according to individuals familiar with the discussions, the WSJ reported.
Peltz, who founded an investment company called Trian Partners, told The Financial Times in March that he plans to support Trump because of immigration issues and due to fears about Biden’s “mental condition.”
Musk, Peltz and others intend to keep hosting dinners and meetings around the U.S. with business elites that will focus on Biden’s policy failures, one individual told the WSJ.
Former President Donald Trump and Musk have talked about a potential position for the X CEO in the Trump administration if he is reelected, although it is not a certainty, according to the WSJ. They have also talked about methods to provide the X CEO with the ability to give official advice and have power on the president’s policy pertaining to various problems, such as the border and the economy.
Moreover, Musk and Peltz told Trump about an initiative they have worked on to fund a data project to counter voter fraud, some of the individuals told the WSJ. Musk and Trump have been having friendly phone conversations multiple times each month on topics like immigration, technology and Space Force.
The New York Times in a Friday article criticized Musk for supposedly attempting to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, taking issue with the fact he tends to attack Biden and defend Trump. Musk has targeted the current president.
Biden encouraged investigations into Musk soon after the billionaire assumed control of X in October. Musk’s companies X, Tesla and SpaceX all have dealt with investigations from the Biden administration since his takeover of the platform.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party,” Musk posted on X in May 2022, while he was still in the process of purchasing the platform. “But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold.”
Musk, X, Peltz, the Biden campaign and Trump campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.