Politico: Is Musk destroying himself by allying with Trump?

In his article in Politico, American historian Tevi Troy discussed the influence of celebrities and businessmen on the course of the presidential elections in the United States.

He drew an interesting comparison between the role played by Time magazine founder Henry Luce in bringing Dwight Eisenhower to the White House during the period 1953-1961, and the recent involvement of American billionaire Elon Musk in politics in support of the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

Musk’s interview with Trump earlier this month, via X, was a sensation and the latest in the tech mogul’s enduring fascination with the former president, Troy wrote, a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a presidential historian who previously served as a White House aide.

He added that Musk, who relishes controversy, didn’t hesitate to support Trump in the presidential elections scheduled for November 5, and played an influential role in Trump’s return to the X social media platform.

Every election cycle, celebrities try to unfairly sway the outcome in favor of their candidate.

While a recent study showed that celebrities like rapper Megan Thee Stallion and musician Kid Rock can galvanize voters, it’s ultra-rich and powerful CEOs like Elon Musk who have the power to wield enormous influence in political campaigns.

Musk and other CEOs, like all US citizens, have the right to participate in politics in their country, from funding political action committees to getting involved in canvassing for their candidates and attracting voters to their platforms, however this involvement won’t come without a price.

The historian draws lessons from the recent past, writing that history tells us that the founder of the US magazines, Time and Life, Henry Luce, put all his resources and capabilities into promoting the campaign of the Republican Party candidate Dwight Eisenhower for president in 1952, something that was not common for a media organization.

This support brought the founder and then-editor of Time magazine “short-term benefits,” and gave him access to Eisenhower after he took office.

But because endings are always the same, his enthusiastic support for Eisenhower damaged Time’s journalistic reputation, according to Politico.

Henry Luce, through his interest in the presidency, wanted to establish good relations with the president, something that had eluded him throughout the era of President Franklin Roosevelt, as the two men “hated each other with a deep hatred”.

Luce had long sought to defeat him by supporting unsuccessful candidates, such as Alf Landon, who ran against Roosevelt in 1936, however, his relationship with Harry Truman, who succeeded Roosevelt as president, was no better.

People now expect journalists to be neutral in their coverage, which isn’t always the case, the author of the article believes.

This was the case in 1952, before Luce directed Time and Life magazines to write positively about General Eisenhower.

A Life magazine editorial at the time was headlined “The Motive to Support Eisenhower,” which the then-president said encouraged him to enter the presidential race.

Troy explained that Luce helped shape the campaign vision, which helped him become closer to President Eisenhower.

John Foster Dulles’s Life magazine article, “The Politics of Boldness,” became the basis for Eisenhower’s foreign policy platform for the Republican Party; Dulles later became Eisenhower’s Secretary of State.

Although Luce benefited from Eisenhower’s presence in the White House, he also suffered heavy losses.

The Time staff complained about him acting as “Eisenhower’s mouthpiece”.

At the same time, the magazine’s reputation was tarnished by its strong support for Eisenhower, intellectuals turned against it, and people began to look down on it, as a mediocre magazine.

The American historian returns to talk about Elon Musk, saying that he clearly likes to act differently from Henry Luce, which he himself indicated during his appearance on the variety show “Saturday Night Live,” which was broadcast live at midnight on NBC channel in 2021.

“To everyone I’ve offended, I just want to say that I’m the one who reinvented the electric car, and I’m the one who sent people to Mars in a spaceship… Did you think I’d also be a calm, normal guy?”

Commenting on this statement, Troy believes that one could argue that Musk has succeeded in adopting this approach so far, which has made him one of the richest people in human history.

Troy warns the Musk that he must be careful, as Henry Luce and his media empire suffered real consequences for his involvement in politics before him, and the negative reactions today may be more severe and dire.

Troy noted that X took a hit when Musk bought it in 2022, with ads and engagement dropping dramatically since he took control, but X still has 50 million users in the United States and another 300 million worldwide.

He warned that Musk’s support for Trump could alienate users who don’t like his support for the former president from his platform, which he wants to expand, but this task seems more difficult because he is a non-desirable person among large sectors of the country.

There is a possibility that Musk’s other products, including Tesla cars and SpaceX, will suffer as a result of his support for Trump.