President Joe Biden broke his silence Monday about billionaire Elon Musk’s controversial plan to give $1 million a day to registered voters in swing states.
“I think it’s totally inappropriate,” the president told reporters after casting an early ballot in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden’s comments came the same day that the Philadelphia district attorney’s office filed a lawsuit against Musk’s America PAC to block its sweepstakes.
“America PAC and Elon Musk are running an illegal lottery in Philadelphia (as well as throughout Pennsylvania),” the lawsuit said.
Photo by Michael Swensen/Getty Images
The suit referenced Musk’s announcement of the sweepstakes on October 19, when he said that if registered voters shared their address, cell phone number and email address, and signed a petition pledging to support the Constitution, they could be randomly selected for a $1 million prize.
“In other words, America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens – and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) – to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million,” the suit said.
The lawsuit against Musk’s PAC comes after the Justice Department sent the Tesla CEO a letter warning that his giveaway might violate federal law.
The billionaire defended his sweepstakes a few days later, saying in a town hall on X, the social platform he owns, that the purpose of the giveaway was not to coerce people to register to vote, which is illegal.
“To be clear, this is not a petition to vote for or register for anyone,” he said during the October 25 town hall. “It’s really a petition in support of the Constitution of the United States, and in particular, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.”
Musk, who is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, has given nearly $75 million of his personal fortune to his pro-Trump America PAC, according to financial disclosures made to the Federal Election Commission.
The donation made him one of the biggest Republican mega-donors backing Trump’s election bid against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Musk has become one of Trump’s most vocal campaign surrogates, appearing at a Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday night to stump for the former — and possibly future — president.
Reporters on Monday also asked Biden about Trump’s MSG rally, during which several speakers espoused openly xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“It’s simply embarrassing,” Biden said. “It’s beneath any president.”
“But that’s what we’ve gotten used to,” he added.
“That’s why this election is so important. You know, most of the presidential scholars I’ve spoken talk about the single most consequential thing about a president is character. Character. And he puts that in question every time he opens his mouth.”
