Democrats Pile on Musk: Campaign Against Us Next

Adding to the impression that Elon Musk has become a political liability for President Trump, Axios reports Democrats are now pushing for the billionaire adviser to campaign, not for them, but for their opponents. "Yes please! Can you arrange that? Who do I speak to about that?" Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan tells the outlet. "I'll pay for his coach flight," adds Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin. Musk traveled to Wisconsin, where he and his aligned PACs invested a record $25 million in the state Supreme Court election, per the New York Times, only for Susan Crawford to pull off a 10-point win, sustaining a 4-3 liberal majority. As House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries put it to MSNBC, "Elon Musk was just rejected decisively."

Even Pam Van Handel, a Republican party chair in Wisconsin's Outagamie County, admitted voters appeared not to be fans of Musk, per Politico. "He may have turned out more voters against [Trump-endorsed judge Brad Schimel]," added Rohn Bishop, the GOP mayor of Waupun, Wisconsin. Indeed, Musk "appeared to become a powerful turnout machine for the Democratic Party base," making "himself the face of a humiliating political defeat," per the Times. But the world's richest man, expected to step back from his role in the administration in the coming months, still has value to Trump as the GOP's "moneyman" and "a heat shield for a president who avoids blame at any cost," the outlet reports. Some have suggested Trump is keeping Musk around as a potential scapegoat. (More Elon Musk stories.)