Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump on Saturday, just minutes after a shooting at a campaign rally injured the former president.
On his social media platform X, Musk tweeted “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” posting his comments along with a video clip of Trump being taken off stage by Secret Service agents.
In a later post, Musk added, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
Responding to someone’s plea to protect himself in the wake of the shooting, Musk said two people on separate occasions tried to kill him in the past eight months, adding that they were arrested with guns about 20 minutes away from Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas.
On Friday, sources told Bloomberg that Musk donated to America PAC, a super political action committee working to elect Trump, though it was unclear how much he gave.
Meanwhile, hedge fund billionaires Ken Griffin and Paul Singer met with Trump recently about donating to his campaign, according to Bloomberg.
The shooting took place Saturday evening in Butler, Pa., while Trump was addressing a crowd ahead of the Republican National Convention on Monday.
Video of the incident showed that as gunshots were heard, Trump grabbed his ear before his security detail swarmed around him. As he was taken away, footage showed blood on his face.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said the police department was sending more officers to certain sites, including Trump Tower, the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street, Foley Square and City Hall.
Ian Bremmer, president of political risk research and consulting firm Eurasia Group, tweeted, “former president trump shot at rally. Us democracy in crisis.”
He added later, “political violence was abhorrent and completely unjustified on january 6. It’s equally abhorrent and completely unjustified on july 13.”
Democratic and Republican lawmakers condemned political violence and expressed relief that Trump is safe.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said, “I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.”