As Democratic scrutiny grows, Twitter’s new CEO has allied himself with the GOP and invited back extreme right-wing users.
The world’s richest man was a political cypher prior to purchasing Twitter. He was a businessman who engaged in political conflict with both Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump, promoting gun control and challenging Covid-19 regulations. Meanwhile, progressive-leaning top executives were increasingly monitoring Twitter, a social media network, for sensitivity.
That era began in the year 2022.
Musk has abruptly re-invited many right-wing figures on the platform since taking the firm private in October, including Trump. In the 2018 midterm elections, he supported Republicans and made fun of Democrats. But probably most notably, he tweeted last weekend that he would favour Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president in 2024.
The Republican Party is now treating him as a convert, despite the fact that he still claims to be seeking “balance” in Washington. With Republicans taking control of the House in 2018, the informal alliance may prove useful for a tech CEO who is constantly in the public eye. The GOP supported Musk in a dispute with Apple, and this early political payoff for the alliance was seen when Musk was supported by the GOP.
“I’d perform an old-man backflip every time we can bring someone of Mr. Musk’s intelligence into the Republican Party. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) remarked of Musk, “I’m glad to have him.
Republicans have been looking for a tech gatekeeper like the billionaire. As a self-described “absolutist” of free speech, he has loosened or removed many of Twitter’s content moderation safeguards, which conservatives have welcomed after years of grumbling about what they perceived as platform censorship. And with every conflict Musk instigates—against liberal leaders, other tech firms, or “cancel culture”—he gets closer to his new supporters on the right.
The anticipated new speaker of the House, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, defended Musk against President Joe Biden’s demand for a national security examination of foreign investors’ involvement in Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. “I find that offensive. He asked reporters on Tuesday at the White House, “Is the government going to pursue someone who wants to have free speech? They ought to quit criticising Elon Musk, in my opinion.
Longtime experts in the tech sector have expressed shock at Musk’s glib embrace of politics. According to Nu Wexler, who worked in policy communications at Twitter, Google, and Facebook as well as for Democrats in Congress, it’s an area that the majority of tech CEOs “take great pains” to avoid.
“It’s funny to watch the new guy just do a belly-flop straight into it,” Wexler continued. “Social media executives have spent the last five or 10 years tip-toeing around the political swimming pool.
Musk’s company-wide layoffs affected the majority of Twitter’s media team, so they didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Musk’s showmanship isn’t currently translating into real victories in legislative or regulatory matters. However, he has the ability to incite GOP rhetorical support with a few tweets, as he did this week when he claimed that Tim Cook had misunderstood him and that Apple had threatened to ban Twitter from its App Store. He then abruptly withdrew his claims after the meeting. At the White House state dinner on Thursday night, Cook told reporters that his meeting with Musk went “very well.”
DeSantis joined other Republican lawmakers in supporting the new Twitter CEO in the hours following Musk’s initial accusations, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, and Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado. Many of them reaffirmed their calls for the passage of an antitrust law that would significantly restrict Apple’s ability to decide which apps are permitted on iPhones.
Even after Musk’s outburst, no politician has publicly shifted their views on the antitrust bills, which have been stalled in Congress due to opposition from influential members. And those threats to punish Apple might come off as a bit hasty after his swift apology and proclamation of harmony.
Wexler asserted that Musk might eventually persuade some hesitant members of Congress. He added that Musk “might be able to win over some Republicans to support the competition bills.”
If nothing else, Musk showed how quickly Republicans would support him, especially when he targeted a traditionalist bogeyman like Apple. Since it and Google banned the conservative-friendly media app Parler following the pro-Trump uprising at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, Republicans have harboured resentment toward the company. Republicans have recently criticised Apple for restricting the iPhone’s airdrop sharing feature in China in advance of the Covid-19 lockdown protests in that nation.
“Right now, it looks like Republicans might go a little easier on Twitter because they like decisions that Musk is making,” said another tech industry executive, who asked not to be identified so they could speak freely.
