Billionaires Elon Musk, Bill Ackman endorse Trump in presidential race
Musk, who has been ramping up criticism of US President Joe Biden, said Trump has proved that he is "tough"
Musk has said he previously voted for Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton as well as Biden
Updated 14 July 2024
Reuters
Billionaires Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, publicly endorsed Donald Trump for the first time in the US presidential race, with Musk calling the Republican former president “tough.”
Musk, the world’s richest person, posted the endorsement with a video of Trump with blood on his face pumping his fist after multiple shots rang out at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Trump was safe.
The posts cement Musk’s shift toward right-wing politics and hand Trump a high-profile backer in his quest to return to the White House in the Nov. 5 election.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk posted on his social media platform X.
“The martyr lived,” he wrote in a later post, citing a reported debate between conservative venture capitalist Peter Thiel and LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman.
Musk later posted a photograph of Trump at the event, followed by: “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
Musk and representatives from X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Musk, who has been ramping up criticism of US President Joe Biden, has donated to a political group working to elect Trump, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources.
The South African-born businessman’s sway stands to benefit Trump, since Musk has one of the largest footprints on X with 189.5 million followers, meaning his posts can instantaneously spread widely.
Musk has said he previously voted for Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton as well as Biden.
However, in the last few years, Musk has espoused right-wing views, becoming a fierce critic of diversity initiatives, Biden’s immigration policies and complaining that Democrats had given a “very cold shoulder” to Tesla and his rocket company SpaceX.
In March, Trump, who is expected to be formally nominated next week as the Republican Party’s candidate for the Nov. 5 election, reportedly met with Musk and other wealthy donors.
In response to reports of the meeting, Musk posted on X: “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President.” In May, he also denied media reports that there had been talks over a potential advisory role for him in any Trump presidency.
FROM “BULL***T ARTIST” TO “FAN OF ELON“
In July 2022, Musk said Trump was “too old to be” president of the United States, and Trump needed to “sail into the sunset.” Musk also said he was leaning toward supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president in 2024.
Trump hit back, calling Musk a “Bull***t artist“.
Then in late 2022, Twitter reversed its ban on former US President Trump shortly after Musk completed his $44 billion purchase of the controversial social media platform, which he later renamed X.
Last month, Trump said he was “a fan of Elon,” adding “he does an incredible job with Tesla.”
Musk said at a recent Tesla shareholder meeting that the two men had “some conversations.” Trump is a “huge fan” of Tesla’s electric pickup trucks, Musk said.
Trump has reiterated his pledge to immediately abandon the Biden administration’s “mandate” to support the electric vehicle industry.
Musk’s support for Republicans and his antisemitic and other controversial comments have alienated some Tesla customers, weighing on the carmaker’s reputation and sales. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Alexandra Ulmer, additional reporting by Rami Ayyub and Gnaneshwar Rajan, editing by Deepa Babington, Lananh Nguyen and Franklin Paul)
For his part, hedge fund manager Ackman posted on social media platform X endorsing Trump after the Republican candidate was shot during his campaign rally.
“I just endorsed him,” Ackman said. “But you know me. I write long posts on important topics. I want people to understand my thinking so it means more and helps others get to the right place,” Ackman said in response to an X user.
I am going to formally endorse @realDonaldTrump. I came to this decision some time ago as many @X followers have already understood from my supportive posts of Trump and my criticisms of @POTUS Biden.
The reason why I have not yet formally done so is that I want to explain my…
Ackman had considered endorsing Trump as recently as May, and had planned to announce his support on X, Reuters and other media outlets reported.
A spokesperson for Ackman did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
At least two dead, hundreds stranded in Thailand as floods hit north
Updated 18 sec ago
BANGKOK: At least two people were killed and hundreds stranded in Thailand after heavy rains swept through two northern provinces, swelling rivers, inundating settlements and triggering mudslides, authorities said on Wednesday. The adverse weather, which comes in the wake of Typhoon Yagi — the most powerful storm in Asia this year, has impacted about 9,000 households in Thailand, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said. “Water currents are still strong,” she told reporters. “All agencies are prepared and when the current eases, they will go in immediately.” The impacts of the storm have killed at least 143 people in Vietnam, where it made landfall on Saturday before moving westwards, with floods forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents living near the swelling Red River in the capital Hanoi. Thailand’s Chiang Mai province experienced flash floods and mudslides, with two deaths recorded, according to its governor. In the Mai Sai district of neighboring Chiang Rai province, which borders Myanmar, rubber boats were unable to reach some flooded areas where hundreds were stuck and awaiting help, said district chief Narongpol Kid-an. “Helicopters will be used to evacuate stranded residents and deliver food and water,” he told Reuters. A resident in the main town in Mae Sai, which has a population of over 28,000, said their group of three people was trapped on the second floor of a building after rising water submerged the lower level. “We have not eaten anything since yesterday morning,” the resident said, asking not to be named. “It is still raining heavily in Mae Sai. We hope a rescue team or somebody will come to help us.”
Flash flood sweeps away hamlet as Vietnam storm toll rises to 141 dead
Torrent of water buried Lang Nu hamlet with 35 families in mud and debris
Rescuers have recovered 16 bodies and are continuing the search for about 40 others
Updated 11 September 2024
AP
HANOI, Vietnam: A flash flood swept away an entire hamlet in northern Vietnam, killing 16 people and leaving dozens missing as deaths from a typhoon and its aftermath climbed to 141 on Wednesday.
Vietnamese state broadcaster VTV said the torrent of water gushing down from a mountain in Lao Cai province Tuesday buried Lang Nu hamlet with 35 families in mud and debris.
Only about a dozen are known so far to have survived. Rescuers have recovered 16 bodies and are continuing the search for about 40 others.
The death toll from Typhoon Yagi and its aftermath has climbed to 141 as 69 others remain missing and hundreds were injured, VTV said.
Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph (92 mph) and despite weakening on Sunday, downpours have continued and rivers remain dangerously high.
Floods and landslides have caused most of the deaths, many of which have come in the northwestern Lao Cai province, bordering China, where Lang Nu is located.
Anti-war protesters clash with police at Melbourne defense expo
Police were pelted with rocks, horse manure and bottles filled with liquid as they tried to protect attendees of the expo
Two dozen police officers required medical treatment and 33 people had been arrested for offenses
Updated 11 September 2024
Reuters
SYDNEY: Anti-war protesters and police clashed outside a defense exhibition in Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne on Wednesday, with police using sponge grenades, flash-bang devices and irritant sprays to control parts of the hostile crowd.
Police were pelted with rocks, horse manure and bottles filled with liquid as they tried to protect attendees of the expo, some of whom were assaulted by protesters, a Victoria state police spokesperson said in a statement.
Two dozen police officers required medical treatment and 33 people had been arrested for offenses including assaulting, obstructing or hindering police, arson and blocking roads, police said.
“Victoria police is appalled at the behavior of some of the protesters in attendance,” the police spokesperson said.
“Some police have been spat at by protesters, whilst other officers have been sprayed with a liquid irritant, some of which has been identified as acid.”
Protesters lit fires in the street, disrupted traffic and public transport, while missiles were thrown at several police horses but no serious injuries were reported, police said.
About 1,200 people attended the protest outside the venue hosting the biennial Land Forces International Land Defense Exposition, authorities said.
Many chanted pro-Palestine slogans through loud speakers and waving Palestine flags while dumpsters were pushed toward police lines, video showed. One protester climbed on top of a truck that was stopped at traffic lights.
Australian media reported it was the largest police operation in Melbourne since 2000 when Australia’s second-largest city hosted the World Economic Forum.
About 1,000 exhibiting organizations from 31 countries are expected to attend the event through Friday, which the organizers said was Australia’s largest defense expo.
Some attendees were doused in a red liquid by protesters, ABC News reported.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said people had the right to protest but had to do it in a peaceful manner.
“You don’t say you’re opposed to defense equipment by throwing things at police. They’ve got a job to do and our police officers should be respected at all times,” Albanese told Channel Seven.
Key takeaways from the Harris-Trump presidential debate
Republican Donald Trump and Democratic VP Kamala Harris clashed over abortion, economy, immigration and Trump’s legal woes
Harris appeared to get under Trump’s skin with a series of sharp attacks, prompting Trump to deliver stream of falsehood-filled retorts
Updated 11 September 2024
Reuters
PHILADELPHIA: Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump met on Tuesday for their first and perhaps only debate, a square-off that could have a significant impact on the Nov. 5 election as polls show a tight race.
Here are takeaways from the debate:
RILING HER RIVAL
Harris made a point to get under Trump’s skin, as her campaign had forecast.
She urged viewers to attend a Trump rally, where she said Trump would say bizarre things such as windmills cause cancer (something he has, in fact, said) and where, she taunted, attendees would leave out of exhaustion and boredom.
Trump, who prides himself on the crowds he draws, was clearly riled.
“My rallies, we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics,” he said. He accused Harris of busing in attendees to her rallies.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump returns from a commercial breaks during a presidential debate with US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2024. (AFP)
Trump then falsely claimed that immigrants in the country illegally were killing and eating people’s pets in the city of Springfield, Ohio, an unsubstantiated claim that has circulated on social media and been amplified by Trump’s vice presidential running mate JD Vance.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs! The people that came in, they’re eating the cats!” Trump said. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
City officials in Springfield have said those reports are untrue, which the ABC moderators pointed out after Trump’s comments.
“Talk about extreme,” Harris responded, laughing.
PLAYING DEFENSE
Another of Harris’ goals, as a former California prosecutor, was to call Trump out for his past actions, particularly his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
An hour into the debate, her strategy appeared to be paying off. Trump was continually on the defensive.
Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris gestures as she speaks during a presidential debate with Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., on September 10, 2024. (REUTERS)
Asked about the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the US Capitol, he insisted he “had nothing to do with that, other than they asked me to make a speech.” He also maintained, falsely, that he had won the 2020 election.
Harris used Trump’s actions as an argument for the country to turn the page.
“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people, so let’s be clear about that, and clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that, but we cannot afford to have a president of the United States who attempts as he did in the past to upend the will of the voters in a free and fair election,” Harris said.
The vice president dug at Trump a little more, saying world leaders were “laughing” at him and calling him a disgrace – language that Trump has employed himself at rallies in reference to how he says other countries view President Joe Biden.
A few minutes later, Trump erupted, claiming Harris had received “no votes” in claiming the Democratic nomination and suggesting she replaced Biden as part of some sort of coup.
“He hates her,” Trump said of Biden. “He can’t stand her.”
The exchanges may have aided Harris’ argument that Trump, as she put it, lacks the “temperament” to be president.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts in the spin room on the day of his debate with Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., on September 10, 2024. (REUTERS)
RACIAL DIVIDE
Deep into the debate, the long-simmering topic of race came up. Trump was asked why he had publicly questioned Harris’ dual heritage as a Black and South Asian woman.
“I don’t care what she is,” he responded. “I read that she was Black. Then I read that she was not Black.”
Asked to respond, Harris accused Trump of using race to divide Americans throughout his career. She cited how he and his father turned away Black renters in the 1970s and how Trump led the public outcry against five young Black and Latino men who were wrongly convicted of assaulting a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in 1989.
More recently, he openly questioned whether President Barack Obama was a US citizen, Harris noted.
“I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president who has, consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people,” she said.
“I think the American people want better than that,” Harris added. “We don’t want a leader who is constantly trying to have Americans point their fingers at each other.”
Instead of trying to defend his record, Trump pivoted back to the economy and tried to pin Biden’s economic policies on Harris. “She’s trying to get away from Biden,” he said.
Harris used the attack to pitch herself again as a change agent.
“Clearly, I am not Joe Biden, and certainly not Donald Trump,” Harris said, “and what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”
HANDSHAKE
Heading into the debate, there was a question as to how Harris and Trump, who have never met, would greet each other.
Harris settled the issue, definitively. She walked over to Trump at his podium, extended her hand and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris.”
It was a disarming way for Harris to approach a man who has spent weeks insulting her race and gender.
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) shakes hands with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2024. (AFP)
SPARRING ON THE ECONOMY
In the debate’s opening minutes, Trump and Harris went to battle on one of the issues that is top of mind for voters: the economy.
Harris detailed the economic policies she has rolled out in recent weeks, which include a substantial tax credit for small start-ups. Trump focused his comments on tariffs, saying he would protect the American economy from unfair foreign competition.
While both sides got their jabs in, Harris got to speak first on a topic where she trails Trump in terms of voter trust. She appeared to force the former president onto his back foot, and Trump essentially played defense on one of his strongest issues.
“She doesn’t have a plan” Trump said, after Harris’ opening comments. “It’s like Run, Spot, Run.”
A SCHISM ON ABORTION
The two candidates also engaged in a fractious debate about abortion, an issue where polls show Harris has the upper hand.
Trump defended the US Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that ended constitutional protection for abortion and sent the issue back to individual states, arguing, incorrectly, that it was an outcome desired by both Republicans and Democrats. Democrats have long supported a constitutional right to abortion.
“I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it,” Trump said.
A member of the media uses phone as a screen displays the presidential debate, as Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attend a presidential debate hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., on September 10, 2024. (REUTERS)
Trump contended that some states allow babies to be aborted after birth, a point corrected by ABC News moderator, Linsey Davis.
Harris flashed some outrage at Trump’s assertion that abortion becoming a states-rights issue was a popular result, referring to states that have passed restrictive bans.
“This is what people wanted?” Harris asked. “People being denied care in an emergency room because health care providers are being afraid of being hauled off to jail?“
Trump was asked whether he would veto a federal abortion ban if one were passed by Congress. He insisted it would never happen, but refused to answer the question definitively.
WORLDS APART
One of the most heated policy discussions came when Trump and Harris clashed over how they would handle Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The candidates’ responses revealed the degree to which their views on America’s role in the world fundamentally differ.
Trump refused to say he wanted Ukraine to win the war, even as ABC moderator David Muir pushed him on the point, saying only that he wanted to wrap up the conflict as soon as possible.
Harris shot back, arguing that what Trump really wanted was Ukraine’s quick and unconditional capitulation.
“If Donald Trump were president, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now,” Harris said.
'WEAPONIZED’ JUSTICE
In one heated exchange, Trump and Harris accused each other of conspiring to “weaponize” the Justice Department in a bid to go after their enemies.
Trump said the indictments he faces for conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss and for his mishandling of classified documents — as well as his conviction for forging documents related to hush money payments to a porn star — are all the result of a conspiracy cooked up by Harris and Biden. There is no evidence for that assertion.
Harris shot back by pointing out that Trump has promised to prosecute his enemies if he wins a second term.
“Understand this is someone who has openly said he would terminate, I’m quoting, terminate the Constitution,” Harris said.
The exchange underlined how Harris and Trump see the stakes of this election as existential. Both see their opponent as a threat to democracy itself.
IMF agreement could give Ukraine access to $1.1 bn
It would raise to $8.7 billion the amount of funds dispersed so far to Ukraine as part of an IMF program tallying about $15.6 billion
Updated 11 September 2024
AFP
SAN FRANCISCO: The International Monetary Fund late Tuesday said it has reached an agreement with Ukraine on an aid program review that could open the door to $1.1 billion for the war-battered country.
A staff-level agreement on the fifth review of the four-year Extended Fund Facility Agreement, subject to approval by the IMF executive board, would clear the way for Ukraine to access the money, according to the IMF.
It would raise to $8.7 billion the amount of funds dispersed so far to Ukraine as part of an IMF program tallying about $15.6 billion.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to have a devastating impact on the country and its people,” IMF team leader Gavin Gray said in a release.
“Skillful policymaking, the adaptability of households and firms, and robust external financing has helped support macroeconomic and financial stability.”
Real gross domestic product grew 6.5 percent in Ukraine in the first quarter of this year, while inflation in July was deemed low at 5.4 percent year-over-year, according to the IMF.
Gray noted that an economic slowdown is expected in Ukraine due to repeated attacks on its energy infrastructure and the effect of the war on labor markets and overall confidence, but growth should be about three percent for this year.
Inflation is expected to rise to about nine percent by the end of 2024, with risks to the financial outlook considered high, according to Gray.
Kyiv in July said it had struck a preliminary deal with international creditors to restructure government debt worth more than $20 billion, giving the war-torn country some financial breathing room.
Ukraine’s economy has been decimated by Russia’s invasion and the government is reliant on international aid to help it fund both its military and day-to-day government spending.
The deal will see creditors — including BlackRock, Pimco and other major institutional investors — write billions off the nominal value of their holdings, and agree to a new payment schedule on terms more beneficial to Kyiv.
“The financial sector is stable and liquid, with reforms continuing apace despite challenges under Martial Law,” Gray said.
