Right-wing tech and business leaders, led by X owner Elon Musk, used an online bullhorn in the wake of Saturday’s attack to criticize the Secret Service’s diversity drive, denounce Democratic donor Reid Hoffman and make unfounded claims about the shooting.
The arguments of powerful business leaders with large online followings influenced not only X’s direction but also the storylines seen by millions. Musk’s post in support of Trump after the shooting garnered the most engagement of any X post related to the assassination attempt, according to Graham Brookie, vice president of technology programs and strategy at the Atlantic Council. The post was viewed more than 118 million times and retweeted 332,000 times, surpassing a post by Barack Obama in which he said violence has “no place” in a democracy. By Saturday night, the words “deep state” and “antifa” were among the most popular topics across X, formerly known as Twitter.
Brookie said the political incident marked a “return to dominance” for X, the platform that saw a mass exodus of left-leaning users after Musk bought the service. X, meanwhile, celebrated the attention it received in the hours after the shooting, posting the phrase “Global Town Square.”
Musk formally endorsed former President Donald Trump’s candidacy on X after Saturday’s shooting, as did billionaire hedge fund owner Bill Ackman, a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates who have been critical of President Biden. Musk’s inner circle, including venture capitalists David Sachs and Sean Maguire, have all but endorsed Trump in recent months, but Musk appeared to hold firm. Like Ackman, Musk also endorsed Biden in 2020, and the shift in stances from both men highlights how dramatically the political landscape of business and technology has shifted in just a few years.
As is his usual rhetoric, Musk seemed to place the blame for the security breach on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This amplified a post mocking the director of the US Secret Service for so-called “diversity hires.” The allegations have been made by a number of right-wing political accounts, some of which have criticized female Secret Service agents. According to media reports, Musk has previously come under fire for directing this allegation at the aviation industry, implying that diversity efforts have made the skies less safe.
Get caught up in
Stories to keep you up to date
“It would take a plane crash and hundreds of people dying to change this insane ‘die’ policy,” Musk wrote, in what appears to be an intentional spelling error.
Musk, along with investor friend, podcast host and Trump supporter Sachs, used the platform to smear influential Democrat and Silicon Valley titan Reid Hoffman.
Musk mocked Hoffman, referring to an altercation that occurred between Hoffman and billionaire investor Peter Thiel at the Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, earlier this week.
Hoffman reportedly criticized Thiel on stage for supporting Trump in past elections. According to PAC, Thiel sarcastically thanked Hoffman for funding a lawsuit against Trump, saying it made Trump a “martyr” and improved his chances of reelection. Hoffman responded, “Yeah, I wish we’d made him a real martyr.”
“The Reid Hoffmans of the world got their wish… but the martyrs survived,” Musk said in a post on Saturday that has been viewed nearly 24 million times.
Sachs, the host of the podcast “All In” who endorsed Trump after backing several rival candidates earlier this year, recently hosted a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco. (Musk did not attend.) Sachs also sharply criticized Hoffman’s martyr comment.
In a statement posted to X on Sunday, Hoffman condemned political violence and said his comments had been taken out of context. He said he told Thiel, “I hope that Trump will become a martyr and take responsibility for his assaults against women and lies about women. Of course, I never intended any physical harm or violence and I categorically condemn it.”
The post had garnered nearly 1 million views by Sunday afternoon, but this is only a fraction of Musk’s original claim.
Musk, who was urged by aides to support Trump but was unsure until recently, has the most followers on Trump’s platform, with about 190 million.
But even as Twitter has emerged as a powerful destination for people seeking information and insight in a tumultuous political climate, changes made to the platform since Musk’s acquisition have made it harder to find accurate information, Brookie said.
Users can now pay to buy the blue checkmark that was once a badge identifying celebrities and journalists, making it harder to discern the origins of claims on the platform. The word “staged” and other topics related to conspiracy theories also trended. “The information environment has become much more polluted,” he said.
In a post viewed by about 70 million people, Musk called the Secret Service’s actions “either incompetent or deliberate” and called on the agency’s leaders to resign.
After Ackman voiced his support, Musk reposted his message, as did Musk’s friend and Sequoia Capital venture capitalist Maguire, who praised “people who are willing to change their minds as new data comes in.”
Maguire later posted, without providing any evidence, that the shooter “will almost certainly turn out to be a member of the far-right group Antifa.”
Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The Washington Post reported that voter registration records showed Crooks was registered as a Republican.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
Messrs. Hoffman and Maguire declined interview requests, and Sacks did not respond to a request for comment.
On X, right-wing venture capitalists and entrepreneurs posted that the mood was clearly leaning toward the former president, and some said Saturday’s attack would give liberal Silicon Valley more room to openly support Trump if it was undecided.
“People walking around San Francisco casually wearing Trump hats,” the executive wrote. “Something has changed.”
Cat Zakrzewski contributed to this report.
