John Deaton has always said he does not support Donald Trump. But the Republican candidate challenging Sen. Elizabeth Warren is nonetheless touting support from one of the former president’s biggest and most controversial supporters.
Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who supports President Trump’s campaign, endorsed Deaton’s bid for the influential Republican Senate seat on Monday. On Thursday, Deaton, a personal injury lawyer and cryptocurrency enthusiast, defended Musk’s endorsement, saying he was not “lobbying” for Musk’s support but welcomed his support.
“I’m not going to shy away from that,” Deaton told reporters shortly after the state Capitol news conference, adding: I will do it because it will be better for the country. ”
Musk shared a post about Brian Armstrong, CEO of crypto trading platform Coinbase, about He criticized the position and urged Massachusetts voters to support Mr. Deaton. Musk retweeted the post and added one word: “Yes.” Since then, Deaton has been promoting the post and raising money.
Deaton, who is trailing Warren by more than 20 points in polls in the final run-up to Election Day, is a moderate anti-Trump with pro-business stance who is running against Warren, whom she has long criticized. He’s trying to sell himself as a Republican. For large corporations and the super wealthy.
He does so in part by emphasizing support from wealthy businessmen on both sides of the aisle. Shortly after Musk’s effective endorsement, Deaton announced endorsements from Musk and Mark Cuban, a Shark Tank personality and Warren critic who supports Vice President Kamala Harris. Although the two billionaires regularly compete in presidential races, they find common ground in Deaton, who said, “My message of getting things done in a bipartisan manner resonates across the political spectrum.” He argued that this shows that there is.
“I’m the only person in the United States who can get Mark Cuban and Elon Musk to agree,” he said Thursday. “If you accept my approach, I welcome supporters of Vice President Harris and supporters of Donald Trump.”
But Deaton’s anti-Trump stance supporting Musk has been thrown into disarray as he tries to navigate Republican criticism of the front-runner while currying favor with his supporters.
Mr. Musk has a history of controversial statements, including ones he made when he stumbled in support of Mr. Trump. His recent comments include joking about assassinating Democrats and promoting conspiracy theories about election integrity that have been debunked.
That hasn’t stopped Deaton’s campaign from gaining support and raising money. In one campaign ad for X, Deaton writes: As a pro-freedom candidate, I am not part of the broken Washington system that has failed so many Massachusetts voters. ”
He defended his endorsement Thursday by saying, “If Donald Trump endorsed me today, what would I do?” Are you going to refuse it? He doesn’t mean to do that, but if he does, I can’t control it. …Just because I say, “Hey, look, Elon Musk endorsed me,” doesn’t mean I approve of everything Elon Musk has ever said or done. . ”
Still, Deaton’s support for Musk extends beyond support. At a news conference Thursday aimed at criticizing Warren’s stance on the economy and government spending, Deaton pledged to support legislation that would create a “Government Efficiency Commission” to audit the federal government. This idea he later admitted was the “brainchild” of Musk and Trump. “Regardless of party or personality, this idea is a great one,” he wrote to X.
Musk’s support is unlikely to have any impact in traditionally blue states, where a majority of voters support Harris and Warren. Warren also accused Deaton of being untrustworthy and being funded by cryptocurrency billionaires.
However, while criticizing former President Trump, Deaton maintained that he could form a coalition government that included Trump’s supporters.
“What I did in the debate was try to examine why people vote for President Trump without justifying him,” Deaton said. “I don’t think we should take the position that if someone votes for President Trump, that makes him a bad person. I reject that.”
But capturing that lane seems like an uphill battle. Just before Thursday’s statehouse news conference, one person shouted out the window of a passing car, pleading for support for Trump. “Not at all, brother,” Deaton retorted.
Anjali Huynh can be reached at anjali.huynh@globe.com.
