Elon Musk joined Donald Trump on stage at a rally as the Republican candidate returned to Butler, Pennsylvania – the town where a gunman tried to kill Trump, prompting Musk to quickly publicly endorse the former president. Trump introduced Musk as “one of the people who are going to help us build this incredible future” before the Tesla CEO jumped on stage wearing a black “Make America Great Again” cap. “I'm not just MAGA, I'm a dark MAGA,” Musk told the crowd.
Musk provided an interlude midway through the speech, with Trump pausing at one point to introduce the businessman. Trump praised him as “a really incredible guy,” adding, “I don't say that very often. He is a wonderful gentleman.”
“He saved free speech,” Trump claimed. “He created so many different great things.” He cited both Musk's Tesla and SpaceX companies, along with the free speech reference that pointed to Musk's shifts since he took control of X and abolished much of the site's content moderation.
Trump brings Elon Musk to the stage, who he says “saved freedom of speech.” Elon jumps up and down, claims he's “dark MAGA” and praises Trump. pic.twitter.com/xJTyiyziWJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 5, 2024
“Well, first of all, I want to say what an honor it is to be here,” Musk began his comments to the audience at the meeting. “And you know, the true test of a person's character is how he or she behaves under fire. And we had a president who couldn't climb stairs, and another who was pumping his fists after being shot.” He then led the crowd in a chant of “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
“Now America is home to the brave, and there is no better test than courage under fire…who do you want to represent America?” Musk asked as the crowd cheered Trump. “Yes, absolutely. And I think this, this, this election, I think the most important election of our lifetime, this is – this is not an ordinary election.”
Democrats want to “take away your freedom of speech,” the self-proclaimed champion of free speech claimed. “They want to take away your right to bear arms… they actually want to take away your right to vote.”
Although the Harris-Walz campaign advocates for gun control, there is no evidence the Democratic Party wants to eliminate guns completely. They have also shown no interest in eliminating Americans' freedom of speech or voting rights. It is worth noting that freedom of expression does not mean freedom from the consequences of that expression.
“We now have fourteen states that do not require a voter ID. California, where I used to live, just passed a law banning voter identification for voting. I still can't believe this is real. So how are you supposed to conduct good, proper elections if there is no ID?” Musk wondered. “It is pointless and freedom of expression is the basis of democracy. And if people don't know what's going on, if they don't know the truth, how can you vote informedly? To have democracy you need freedom of speech. That's why it's the First Amendment, and the Second Amendment is there to make sure we have the First Amendment.”
Federal law requires newly registered voters in all states to provide a driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when registering to vote. There are fifteen states in the United States that do not require registered voters to identify themselves when they come to vote, but voters in those states were required to identify themselves when they first registered.
On September 30, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning local governments from requiring ID to vote. The law is a response to a March 2024 ballot initiative approved by voters in Huntington Beach, where 53.4% of residents voted to require all residents wishing to vote to show a valid ID.
That measure violated state law, leading California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber to sue to block local officials from enforcing the measure.
“The right to vote freely is the foundation of our democracy and Huntington Beach's voter ID policy goes against this principle,” Bonta said in a statement. “State election law already includes robust voter identification requirements with strong protections to prevent voter fraud, while ensuring every eligible voter can cast their ballot without hassle. Imposing unnecessary barriers to voter participation disproportionately burdens low-income voters, voters of color, young or older voters, and people with disabilities.”
You can watch Elon Musk's speech at Donald Trump's rally in the videos above, or watch the full Trump rally in the video below:
The post Elon Musk Joins Trump Rally, Claims Harris Winning Would Make This 'The Last Election': 'I'm Dark MAGA' | Video first appeared on TheWrap.
