Brookie said the political incident marked a “return to dominance” for X, the platform that saw a mass exodus of left-leaning users after Musk bought the service. Meanwhile, X was quick to capitalize on the attention it received in the hours after the shooting, posting the phrase “Global Town Square.”
Musk formally endorsed former President Donald Trump's candidacy on X after Saturday's shooting, as did billionaire hedge fund owner Bill Ackman, a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates who have been critical of President Biden. Musk's inner circle, including venture capitalists David Sachs and Sean Maguire, have all but endorsed Trump in recent months, but Musk appeared to hold firm. Like Ackman, Musk also endorsed Biden in 2020, and the shift in stances from both men highlights how dramatically the political landscape of business and technology has shifted in just a few years.
As is his wont, Musk appeared to place the blame for the security breach on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This amplified a post mocking the director of the US Secret Service for so-called “diversity hires,” an allegation made by a number of right-wing political accounts and which specifically blamed female Secret Service agents. According to media reports, Musk has previously drawn criticism for applying this allegation to the aviation industry, implying that diversity efforts have made the skies less safe.
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“It would take a plane crash and hundreds of people dying to change this insane 'die' policy,” Musk wrote, in what appears to be an intentional spelling error.
Musk, along with investor friend, podcast host and Trump supporter Sachs, used the platform to smear influential Democrat and Silicon Valley titan Reid Hoffman.
Musk mocked Hoffman, referring to an altercation that occurred between Hoffman and billionaire investor Peter Thiel at the Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, earlier this week.
On stage at the conference, Hoffman reportedly criticized Thiel for supporting Trump in the past election. According to PAC, Thiel thanked Hoffman for funding his lawsuit against Trump, sarcastically suggesting that the lawsuit made Trump a “martyr” and improved his chances of reelection. Hoffman responded, “Yeah, we should have made him a martyr.” Actual Martyrs.”
“The Reid Hoffmans of the world got their wish… but the martyrs survived,” Musk wrote on Saturday in a post that has been viewed nearly 24 million times.
Sachs, the “All In” podcast host who endorsed Trump after backing several rival candidates earlier this year, and who recently hosted a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco (Musk did not attend), also sharply criticized Hoffman's martyr comments.
In a statement posted to X on Sunday, Hoffman condemned political violence and said his comments had been taken out of context. He told Thiel, “I hope that Trump will become a martyr and take responsibility for his assaults against women and lies about women. Of course, I never intended any physical harm or violence and I categorically condemn it.”
The post had garnered nearly 1 million views by Sunday afternoon, but this is only a fraction of Musk's original claim.
Musk, who was urged by aides to support Trump but was unsure until recently, has the most followers on Trump's platform, with about 190 million.
But even as Twitter has emerged as a powerful destination for people seeking information and insight in a tumultuous political climate, changes made to the platform since Musk's acquisition have made it harder to find accurate information, Brookie said.
Users can now pay to buy the blue checkmark that was once a badge identifying celebrities and journalists, making it harder to discern the origins of claims on the platform. The word “staged” and other topics related to conspiracy theories also trended. “The information environment has become much more polluted,” he said.
In a post viewed by about 70 million people, Musk called the Secret Service's actions “either incompetent or deliberate” and called on the agency's leaders to resign.
After Ackman voiced his support, Musk reposted his message, as did Musk's friend and Sequoia Capital venture capitalist Maguire, who praised “people who are willing to change their minds as new data comes in.”
Maguire later posted, without providing any evidence, that the shooter “will almost certainly turn out to be a member of the far-right group Antifa.”
Authorities identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The Washington Post reported that voter registration records showed Crooks was registered as a Republican.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
Messrs. Hoffman and Maguire declined interview requests, and Sacks did not respond to a request for comment.
On X, right-wing venture capitalists and entrepreneurs posted that the mood was clearly leaning toward the former president, with some saying yesterday's attack would make it more widely acceptable for undecided people in liberal Silicon Valley to publicly support Trump.
“People walking around San Francisco casually wearing Trump hats,” the executive wrote. “Something has changed.”
Cat Zakrzewski contributed reporting.
