Spending over a hundred million dollars, Musk is all in, going all out against Trump. If 700 million voters support Trump, each could receive $47, or even until election day, giving away $1 million a day to a randomly selected voter. It should be noted that Musk is the richest person in the world, with a net worth close to $300 billion.
So can Harris's team compete with the world's richest in financial strength?
Some may think that with Musk's superpower, Trump is definitely on track to win this election, but in fact, it may not be the case. It is important to understand how expensive American elections are. Although Musk is the richest person in the world and immensely wealthy, the Harris team is no pushover.
The Financial Times of the UK reported that this year's presidential election is expected to become the most expensive in American history. As of mid-October, the Democratic and Republican candidates and their respective camps have raised over $3.8 billion, of which at least $695 million comes from the billionaire class. According to Forbes statistics, at least 82 American super-rich have chosen to support Harris, including Wall Street. The lineup of major figures includes the Soros family, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. There are many Hollywood and entertainment stars who almost unanimously support Harris. Among them, American pop diva Taylor Swift did not financially support Harris, merely announcing on her personal social media account that she would vote for Harris, which caused the election website's server to crash with 350,000 fans within 24 hours. On Trump's side, there are only 51 billionaires, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Why do these billionaires align differently? The reason is simple: they are focused on whether the candidates' policy proposals can maximize their interests. The wealthy supporting Harris believe that the Democratic policies will continue the Biden administration, especially the international business cooperation and globalization aspects, which will be more stable. In contrast, the Republican Party often raises tariffs and engages in trade wars, which is clear-cut in terms of benefits and harms for the billionaires' cross-company interests.
On the other side, these are Trump's billionaires. The table shows Trump's promise that once he returns to the White House, he will reduce taxes for those billionaire businesses or individuals who support him and reduce regulations. The cost of tax cuts for the wealthy means that the U.S. will continue to engage in trade wars and raise tariffs, after all, the White House cannot afford to live as a family. Of course, Musk's support for Trump is not just for tax cuts, but more so for a wish to align with palace interests. Previously, as a Democratic president, Biden had firmly expressed his support for electric vehicle owners and even held an electric vehicle summit at the White House, but surprisingly did not invite Tesla, instead publicly supporting General Motors and Ford in developing the electric vehicle industry. Due to the Democratic Party's encouragement of recognition for transgender groups, Musk's eldest son, X, transitioned into a daughter at the age of 18, participating in Middle Eastern political campaigns for financial gain. Within both parties, candidates must first prove their fundraising capabilities. In past presidential elections, candidates with stronger fundraising abilities often end up victorious. For example, in the 2020 U.S. election, both sides spent a total of $14 billion, breaking previous election spending records. The results showed that Biden's fundraising was higher than Trump's, leading to a smooth victory. In the current wave of elections, from June to September 2024, the Harris team raised $500 million more than the Trump team. According to financial reports, as of October 16, Harris's side raised approximately $2.15 billion, while Trump's side raised about $1.68 billion. However, this is not absolute, as Musk plays a crucial role in this election, and let's not forget that Musk also controls Twitter, a propaganda machine. The New York Times and CNN released the last nationwide poll results before the election on October 25, showing that Democratic presidential candidate Harris and Republican presidential candidate Trump reached a tie with a national support rate of 47%. Therefore, this can be called the most closely contested American election in history. Overall, the U.S. presidential election is a competition among billionaires, and the contest is about financial strength. The so-called American democracy, in essence, is built on the capitalist advantage of the wealthy. Currently, neither the 'understanding king' nor the 'Harris king' has an absolute advantage; every step moving forward is crucial. But regardless of who comes to power, the ultimate winners will be American capital, not American voters.