Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton touts two billionaire endorsements: Musk and Cuban
Elon Musk is working hard to help Donald Trump win, while Mark Cuban is fully behind Kamala Harris. But they found common ground in John Deaton's campaign against Elizabeth Warren.
As John Deaton works to position himself as a moderate Republican in a long-shot bid to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, he is promoting the endorsements of two billionaires on different sides of the political aisle: Elon Musk and Mark Cuban.
Musk voiced his support for Deaton on Monday in a one-word post to X, the social media site he runs.
Despite previous comments about the importance of remaining politically neutral, Musk is very publicly involving himself in the current presidential election. He is currently campaigning on behalf of former President Donald Trump and donating millions to the Trump campaign. Under Musk’s control, the platform formerly known as Twitter became more popular with right-leaning users. Musk has been accused of using the platform to amplify his own political views, and X is now a haven for misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Advertisement:
Mark Cuban, on the other hand, is entirely behind Vice President Kamala Harris. The billionaire businessman is appearing at Harris campaign events in battleground states and scheduling many media appearances to attack Trump and bolster Harris. He recently tried to set up a private meeting between Musk and Harris, ABC News reported, but Harris’s team declined. Cuban recently claimed that the election is coming down to a battle between Harris and Musk, and regularly uses X to voice his opinions and spar with Musk.
But the two have found common ground in Deaton.
“The endorsement of two successful businessmen with opposite political views shows how my message of bipartisanship and getting things done is resonating across the political spectrum,” Deaton said in a statement.
Advertisement:
Deaton said in a press conference this week that he did not “lobby” for Musk’s support, but was happy to have it.
“If the richest man in the world who is the greatest entrepreneur of our time wants to say John Deaton is better for the country, I’ll take that,” he said.
A key component of Warren’s popularity as a progressive centers around her longstanding assertion that the ultra-wealthy are not paying their fair share in taxes. She has clashed with Cuban publicly over the issue multiple times.
Cuban said in a post on X in April that he was supporting Deaton, arguing that a capital gains tax hike was not the right thing for Democrats to pursue.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com