Musk Breaks ‘Politically Neutral’ Twitter Promise After Endorsing Republicans In Midterms

Topline

Elon Musk pleaded on Twitter Monday for voters to back Republican candidates a day before midterm elections, the strongest indicator yet of how the world’s wealthiest man will use his newly acquired social network as a mouthpiece for his political agenda.

Elon Musk, left, meets with then President Donald Trump at the White House in 2017.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Addressing “independent-minded voters,” Musk wrote he recommends “voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic,” explaining, “shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties.”

Musk, whose $44 billion takeover of Twitter closed last month, has vowed to rout the platform of what he calls a “strong” liberal bias.

But the outright endorsement of Republicans is a surprise even for Musk, who said in April Twitter must be “politically neutral” to “deserve public trust” and has worked in recent days to assure advertisers the platform won’t descend into a “free-for-all hellscape.”

Key Background

The billionaire has already been hard at work reshaping the platform to his vision, notably axing various employees tasked with moderating election content and creating a council to evaluate the reinstatement of mostly far-right accounts previously banned by Twitter, including former President Donald Trump’s. Musk said in May he planned to vote Republican, decrying Democrats as the “party of division & hate.”

Chief Critic

“How would you, as the head of Twitter, justify recommending which party people should vote for after you advocated for political neutrality for the platform?” Reuters reporter Kanishka Singh replied to Musk’s tweet Monday.

What To Watch For

Polls suggest Republicans will likely take control of the House while the Senate remains a tossup. Higher turnout amongst Republican voters is likely.

Tangent

After potentially swaying the U.S.’ political future, Musk went back to his typical antics, making several crude jokes about Twitter competitor Mastodon.