By admin John Deaton has regularly said he does not support Donald Trump. But the GOP candidate challenging Sen. Elizabeth Warren nonetheless enjoys the support of one of the former president’s biggest – and most controversial – supporters.
On Monday, Elon Musk, a technology billionaire who supports Trump’s presidential campaign, gave it Deaton’s long-term Republican U.S. Senate gave the nod. On Thursday, Deaton, a personal injury lawyer and cryptocurrency enthusiast, defended Musk’s support, saying that while he did not “lobby” for his support, he welcomed the endorsement.
“I’m not going to be ashamed of it,” Deaton told reporters shortly after the House press conference, adding: “If the richest man in the world, who is the greatest entrepreneur of our time, wants to say that John Deaton is better for the country, I will take it.”
Musk backed Deaton in one word by sharing a post on X from Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading platform, in which he criticized Warren’s stance on cryptocurrencies and urged Massachusetts voters to support Deaton. Musk retweeted the post, adding one word: “Yes” – a post that Deaton promoted and raised funds from.
In the final stretch before Election Day, Deaton, who trails Warren by more than 20 points in the polls, is trying to position himself as an anti-Trump, pro-business moderate Republican by running against Warren, who has long railed against corporations and the ultra-rich.
It does this in part by emphasizing its support from wealthy businessmen on both sides of the aisle. Shortly after Musk’s successful endorsement, Deaton again lent his support to Musk and Mark Cuban, a Shark Tank personality and Warren critic who supports Vice President Kamala Harris. The two billionaires regularly spar on the presidential trail, but they found common ground in Deaton, which Deaton said shows that “my message of bipartisanship and getting things done resonates across the political spectrum.”
“I’m the only guy in America who can convince Mark Cuban and Elon Musk to come to terms,” he said Thursday. “If you take my approach, I would welcome supporters of Vice President Harris and Donald Trump.”
However, Deaton’s embrace of Musk’s support is causing confusion his anti-Trump stance, trying to deal with criticism of the Republican at the top of the ticket while courting his supporters.
Musk has made controversial statements, including some of these made when tapping for Trump. His most recent problematic comments include joking about killing Democrats and debunking conspiracy theories about election integrity.
That doesn’t stop Deaton’s campaign from raising funds through endorsements. In one of his X campaign ads, Deaton wrote: “I am honored to have the endorsement of Elon Musk. As a pro-freedom candidate, I am not part of the broken Washington system that has failed so many Massachusetts voters.”
On Thursday, he defended promoting the endorsement, saying: “If Donald Trump endorsed me today, what should I do? Am I saying I reject it? He won’t do it, but if he did, I can’t control it. … Just because I say, hey, look, Elon Musk endorsed me, doesn’t mean I endorse anything Elon Musk has ever said or done.
Still, Deaton’s embrace of Musk goes beyond mere endorsement. During a Thursday news conference aimed at criticizing Warren’s stance on the economy and government spending, Deaton announced sponsorship of legislation to create a “government efficiency commission” to oversee the federal government – an idea he later admitted was “brain brainchild ” ” Musk and Trump. “Regardless of party or personality, the idea is GREAT,” he wrote in X.
Musk’s endorsement is unlikely to have any impact in a traditionally blue state where the vast majority of voters support Harris and Warren. Warren, for her part, also branded Deaton as untrustworthy and financed by cryptocurrency billionaires.
However, Deaton is proving that he can build a coalition that includes Trump supporters, even as he criticizes the former president.
“What I did on the debate stage was I tried to validate why people would vote for President Trump without validating President Trump,” Deaton said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to take the position that if someone votes for President Trump, that means he’s a bad person. I reject it.”
Taking this line, however, seems to be an uphill battle. One person shouted out the window of a passing car shortly before Thursday’s House news conference and urged him to support Trump. “I’m not, brother,” Deaton replied.
Anjali Huynh can be reached at [email protected].