American Historian: Is Elon Musk Burning for His Support of Trump?

Musk was subjected to many attacks after announcing his support for Trump in the presidential elections (Reuters)

In his article in Politico, American historian Tevye Troy discussed the influence of celebrities and businessmen on the course of the US presidential elections. He made 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 the political arena in support of the Republican Party candidate for the presidency, Donald Trump.

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

A delight in controversy

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

In every election cycle, celebrities try to unfairly influence the outcome in favor of the candidate they support. While a recent study showed that celebrities such as American rapper Megan Thee Stallion and American musician and singer Kid Rock can excite voters, it is “ultra-rich and powerful” CEOs—such as Elon Musk—who have the ability to wield enormous influence in political campaigns.

Musk and other CEOs—like all American citizens, according to the article—have the right to participate in the political arena in their country, from funding party political action committees to engaging in mobilizing votes for their candidates and attracting voters on their platforms. But this engagement will not come without a price.

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

Short-term benefits

This support brought the founder and then-editor of Time magazine “short-term benefits,” giving him access to Eisenhower after he took office. But since endings are always the same, his enthusiastic support for Eisenhower damaged Time’s journalistic reputation, according to Politico.

Henry Luce, in his interest in the presidency, wanted to establish good relations with the president, something that had eluded him throughout the Franklin Roosevelt era, as the two men "hated each other with a passion." Luce often sought to defeat him by supporting unsuccessful candidates, such as Alf Landon, who ran against Roosevelt in 1936. But his relationship with Harry Truman, who succeeded Roosevelt, was no better.

People expect journalists to be impartial in their coverage these days, which is not always the case, the author of the article believes.

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

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

Special Vision

Troy explained that Luce helped formulate the vision for the election campaign, which helped him get closer to President Eisenhower. John Foster Dulles's article in Life magazine, titled "The Politics of Boldness," became the basis for Eisenhower's foreign policy for the Republican Party platform. Dulles later became Secretary of State in the Eisenhower administration.

Although Luce benefited from Eisenhower's presence in the White House, he also suffered heavy losses. Time magazine employees complained about playing the role of "Eisenhower's mouthpiece."

At the same time, the magazine's reputation was tarnished by its strong support for Eisenhower, and intellectuals turned against it, and people began to look at it "with disdain" 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" that was broadcast live at the end of the night on the American channel (NBC) in 2021.

Neither calm nor normal

And then he said: "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 and 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.

But the historian warns the American billionaire 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 over. But X still has 50 million users in the United States and another 300 million worldwide.

He warned that Musk’s endorsement of Trump could alienate users who don’t like his standing with the former president, who he wants to expand, but that task is “more difficult” because he is “unpopular” with large segments of the country.

Musk’s other products, including Tesla cars and space exploration company SpaceX, could suffer as a result of his support for Trump.