Elon Musk said the media is encouraging the assassination of him and former President Donald Trump.
“With their relentless hit pieces, legacy mainstream media are actively encouraging the assassination of @realDonaldTrump and now me,” Musk wrote in a post on X, which he owns.
Musk made similar comments at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
“Anyway, so dramatically increasing my risk of being assassinated,” Musk said. “Engaging in politics [is] not what I want to do. I do not have a death wish. But the stakes are so high that I really have — I feel I have no choice but to do it.”
Musk endorsed Trump over the summer and has formed a super PAC to support him, donating $75 million. The group is helping mobilize and register voters in battleground states.
After the second assassination attempt on Trump’s life, Musk said that “no one is even trying to assassinate” Vice President Kamala Harris. He deleted the tweet, which he called a joke.
Over the weekend, Musk promised to give away $1 million each day until November’s election to someone in a swing state who signs his online petition supporting the U.S. Constitution.
The petition Musk is asking people to sign reads: “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”
While questions have been raised about the legality of Musk’s giveaway, Bradley Smith, former commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, said he doesn’t believe it violates any laws.
“He’s not limiting the offer to someone who makes a new registration in any way. I think it would be very hard to show this violates the law. Even if it has the effect of getting some people to vote or to register,” Smith said.
