Tech billionaire Elon Musk, known for his forthright opinions and involvement in social media, has recently expressed a stark viewpoint on the state of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign.
Following the fourth GOP primary debate, Musk voiced his perspective on Thursday, December 4, 2023, on his platform X, previously known as Twitter, declaring Haley’s campaign to be effectively over.
This statement came in response to conservative activist Christopher Rufo’s tweet, which criticized Haley for her alleged support of Disney, BlackRock, environmental, social, and governance investing, and “child sex changes.”
Musk’s comment emerged the morning after the debate hosted by NewsNation.
A former U.N. ambassador, Haley has been a notable presence in past debates. However, her latest performance received mixed reviews, being characterized as her weakest showing thus far. During the event, she struggled to steer the conversation toward her preferred topics, often finding herself on the defensive against personal questions.
Musk, who has previously described himself as a centrist and revealed that he voted for President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, has not clearly indicated his current presidential candidate preference.
His political alignments have appeared fluid; over a year ago, he expressed support for Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and later collaborated with him during DeSantis’ campaign announcement on Twitter Spaces. More recently, in August, Musk showed interest in entrepreneur Republican Vivek Ramaswamy as a “very promising candidate.”
The tech mogul’s recent statement coincides with a challenging period for his platform X, following several major companies, including Disney’s, decision to withdraw advertisements. This move came in mid-November after Musk seemed to endorse an antisemitic post on the platform, causing a significant backlash.
During the debate, Haley found herself under intense scrutiny from fellow candidates. Governor DeSantis criticized her for her corporate donors and perceived alignment with the Republican establishment. Vivek Ramaswamy took a more direct approach, at one point displaying a notepad with “NIKKI = CORRUPT” written on it. These attacks came amidst Haley’s rising poll numbers, indicating her growing influence in the party.