Mark Cuban said on CNBC that this year's presidential election hinges on voter turnout, and has become a battle between Kamala Harris and Elon Musk.
    • ddh@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      7·
      18 days ago

      Can’t wait for Trump to throw Elon under the bus once he thinks Musk has the spotlight

  • peopleproblems@lemmy.world
    74·
    1 month ago

    This is getting weird.

    We have billionaires voicing their opinions on the presidential race in a way that hasn’t happened before.

    This is important to pay attention to. The reason being is it’s a big club we aren’t in.

    • Sunshine (she/her)@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      441·
      1 month ago

      SuperPACS have gotta go and the us contribution limit should be lowered to $100 for every candidate for every year.

    • djsoren19@yiffit.net
      24·
      1 month ago

      I mean, the only real difference is that Musk is an idiot and is doing it brazenly. Every election since Citizen’s United has been 100% about money, and it’s not like it was a non-factor before that.

      • Wogi@lemmy.world
        2·
        1 month ago

        That’s kinda debatable.

        Rockefeller alone accounted for as much as 3% of the US GDP at one point. That would be like 800 billion today. It’s difficult to just draw a straight line of inflation on his net worth from his height to today, because the economy has fundamentally changed since then. Partially because of how fucking ruthless of a motherfucker he was.

        Imagine if all cars were electric, and Tesla was ultimately the only source of electricity for everything you own. And Elon basically said if you don’t vote for his guy he’ll shut off the lights. And had done exactly that before.

        Rockefeller, and others like him, also purchased their fair share of elected officials and if you worked for them, it was understood you voted for the guy they wanted. Or there would be consequences.

  • ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    55·
    1 month ago

    “I just call it the machine, [the] big government machine,” Musk told attendees of his church rally. “And when the Biden puppet was not working out, they got a new puppet. But it’s still the same machine, obviously,” he added of Harris replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket. Musk then alleged that returning Trump to the White House would be “the thing that scares the system” because “Donald Trump is not a puppet, he’s a real person,” adding darkly: “That’s why they’re… trying to kill him.”

    Musk’s latest 13-year-old edgelord idea is calling those he doesn’t agree with NPCs.

    Gotta make sure those you disagree with aren’t even humans with agency, so you can justify whatever suits your goal - it’s the ultimate strawman fallacy, literally.

    • Soulg@sh.itjust.works
      13·
      1 month ago

      Oh he’s been doing that for years. Never this sinister about it, but he has severe main character syndrome.

    • TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org
      8·
      1 month ago

      “I just call it the machine, [the] big government machine,” Musk told attendees of his church rally. “And when the Biden puppet was not working out, they got a new puppet. But it’s still the same machine, obviously,”

      It’s like he hit adolescence in his late middle age, and is going through his edgy, “deep” phase. All he needs is some eye shadow, trench coat, and black fingernail polish.

      • Gaspar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        7·
        1 month ago

        That’s a very evocative outfit. Maybe he could pose with it, in front of a poster that reads “Liberté” and looks like it was created by a high school art student.

        Or something. I’m just spitballing.

    • berno@lemmy.world
      13·
      1 month ago

      It was a joke. He frames the Democratic establishment as puppets (to a wealthy donor elite), and calls her one of those puppets. “Assassinating a puppet is pointless" is what he said, in contrast to his belief that Trump is not a puppet.

      Context matters. It’s a shitty joke, but one needs to fairly analyze what is being said here.

  • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
    141·
    1 month ago

    While this is true to a certain extent, it’s worth remembering that Musk is a naturalized citizen. The Constitution would have to change for him to actually become president. On the other hand, in the US, it seems money can buy anything these days, so, who knows…

    • kandoh@reddthat.com
      162·
      1 month ago

      Lex Luther:

      Do you have any idea how much power I would have to give up to become President?

      — Justice League Unlimited