The estranged niece of former President Donald Trump, Mary Trump, published a scathing critique on her Substack blog on Saturday, sounding the alarm about tech billionaire Elon Musk‘s growing influence over her uncle’s quest to return to the White House in 2024.
In her blog post titled, “Donald’s New Owner” Mary Trump writes that her uncle has always been susceptible to financial influence and that he “has always been for sale,” adding that “it used to be shocking how many people were willing to prop him up in the hopes of profiting off his increasingly seamy ventures.”
She pointed to a Friday report from The New York Times revealing regular communication between Musk and the former president, along with significant financial contributions to Trump’s campaign.
According to Mary Trump, Musk, who owns X, formerly Twitter, has already invested at least $140 million in America PAC, a political action committee supporting Trump’s campaign efforts. She claims that this figure could potentially balloon to $500 million, based on statements attributed to her uncle.
Meanwhile, Mary Trump doesn’t mince words to describe the tech entrepreneur, referring to Musk as “the world’s richest fascist” and a “South African jumping bean.” She claims that Musk’s interest in supporting her uncle stems from a desire to gain influence over potential future government policies.
“In exchange for Donald’s willingness to throw Musk the keys to the federal government, Musk is throwing a considerable fortune, as well as the weight of Twitter’s influence, behind the Republican candidate,” Mary Trump writes.
In her blog post, she also characterizes this business arrangement as a “devil’s bargain,” drawing parallels to Trump’s alleged connections with other powerful figures, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mary Trump accuses the billionaire of actively working to “keep the American electorate as ignorant as possible” through his control of X, alleging that the Trump campaign is coordinating with Musk to suppress or remove unfavorable stories.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks on stage as he joins former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on October 5. The estranged niece of Trump, Mary Trump, published a scathing critique on her Substack blog on Saturday, sounding the alarm about Musk’s growing influence over her uncle’s quest to return to the White House in 2024.
AFP / Getty Images/JIM WATSON
The blog post also highlights recent activities by Musk-funded entities, including the America PAC’s distribution of cash to voters in Philadelphia, which she describes as a “maybe-legal-but-sketchy-anyway scheme to spread pro-Trump dollars around in critical swing states.”
On October 7, Musk announced a referral program through his PAC, offering a $47 bonus for each registered swing-state voter referred to an online petition. The petition requires signers to submit personal contact information.
“For every person you refer who is a swing state voter, you get $47!” Musk wrote on X. “Easy money.” The $47 figure is significant as Trump would be the 47th U.S. president if elected.
The petition states that signers support “First and Second Amendment rights,” but lacks traditional petition elements such as a recipient, delivery date, or specific demands. Upon signing, users are directed to voter registration links for seven swing states: Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Musk’s America PAC stated, “The PAC’s goal ‘is to get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.'”
Mary Trump’s allegations also come amid significant developments in the relationship between Musk and the former president. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Musk’s X platform regarding an investigation into the former president’s alleged election interference.
The case centered around a nondisclosure order preventing X from informing Trump about a warrant issued by Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith‘s team.
Trump faces four felony counts in the DOJ’s case against him in Washington, D.C., after he allegedly tried to overturn President Joe Biden‘s 2020 election victory in the aftermath of his loss, which culminated in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed the case is politically motivated against him.
Meanwhile, Musk has become increasingly vocal in his support for Trump as he recently appeared at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he declared himself “Dark MAGA [Make America Great Again]” and warned that “this will be the last election” if Trump doesn’t win in November.
Newsweek contacted Trump’s campaign and Musk’s press contact via email on Saturday for comment.
Musk’s public endorsement of Trump follows a series of critical remarks by him about Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and the current administration.
On X on October 3, Musk intensified his criticism of the government and wrote, “Unless something is done about the bureaucratic smothering of America, humanity will never reach the stars.” He emphasized his belief that Trump getting a second term is crucial for preventing “continued expansion of oppressive big government, making progress impossible.”
The Tesla CEO also took aim at Harris’ political record on October 3 and wrote on X: “Kamala’s voting track record when she was in the Senate was to the left of Bernie Sanders! She was rated most far left of all 100 senators. Not a moderate at all.”
Mary Trump concludes her blog post with a stark warning about the potential consequences of a Trump-Musk alliance.
“Separately, Donald and Musk are both dangerous enough. Together, they are in an even stronger position to end American democracy and align this country with the world’s most destructive foreign actors,” she writes.
