Twitter CEO Musk: "Vote for the Republican Party in the US Midterm Elections"

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla
[Photo by AP News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla who acquired the social networking service (SNS) Twitter, urged independent voters who are not affiliated with any specific party to vote for the Republican Party on the 7th (local time), a day before the U.S. midterm elections.

On that day, Musk posted on his Twitter account, "Shared power restrains the worst excesses of both (Democratic and Republican) parties," adding, "Therefore, considering that the president is a Democrat, I recommend independent-leaning voters to vote for the Republican Party in Congress."

He emphasized the participation of independent voters by saying, "Hardline supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties never vote for the opposite side, so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who will be responsible for (Congress)."

Musk's remarks are expected to spark controversy as the owner of a major SNS platform that influences the midterm elections directly commented on real-world politics. Since voters mainly consume election-related information through SNS, executives of Twitter and Facebook have so far tried to remain neutral and avoid interfering in elections.

Even before acquiring Twitter, Musk had repeatedly criticized the Democratic Party and expressed support for the Republican Party. In May, he declared on Twitter, "The Democratic Party has become a party of division and hatred," and said, "I can no longer support the Democratic Party and will vote for the Republican Party."

U.S. President Joe Biden, who has been in a war of nerves with Musk, criticized Musk's acquisition of Twitter during a midterm election campaign rally on the 4th, saying, "Musk has bought a means to spread lies to the entire world."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.