As Joe Biden walked in to deliver the State of the Union address, Marjorie Taylo Greene handed him a button with the name of a student killed by an undocumented immigrant on it, and confronted him.
MTG: "Laken Riley. Say her name."
BIDEN: "I know how to say her name."
Then turns his back and waddles away.
They’re not even pretending to care anymore. They hate you.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 8, 2024
Maggie Haberman, a New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst, along with anchor Kaitlan Collins, questioned Elon Musk’s apparent quasi-denial following his meeting with former President Donald Trump and GOP donors. Haberman broke the news that Trump had met with Musk and wealthy GOP donors, prompting Musk to tweet that he wouldn’t be “donating money” to either presidential candidate.
During CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, the anchor emphasized Trump’s urgent financial needs for his campaign. Both Collins and Haberman pointed out the potential loophole in Musk’s denial, highlighting the possibility of contributing to a Super PAC without directly donating to a candidate.
Collins: Elon Musk, the second richest man in the world, posted today on X, and I quote, “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President.” This follows reports of his meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where the campaign is in desperate need of funds.
COLLINS: The second richest man, in the world, Elon Musk, posting on X today, and I’m quoting him now, “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President.”
That, in response to the reporting that he met with Donald Trump, in Palm Beach, at his Mar-a-Lago club, over the weekend, as his campaign, and the candidate himself desperately needs money.
I’m joined now by one of the reporters who broke that story, New York Times Senior Political Correspondent, and CNN’s political analyst, Maggie Haberman.
Maggie, when you saw that tweet today, from Elon Musk — I still call them tweets — how carefully worded do you think that that message was? Because I mean, he could theoretically give to a Super PAC, supporting a candidate, without specifically giving to that candidate.
MAGGIE HABERMAN: Yes, I think you’re hitting on the issue here. He says, to be clear. Well, he’s clear that he’s not giving hard dollars to candidates. And I don’t think anybody expected Elon Musk’s valuable $3,300 checks to be at issue here.
I think the bigger issue is whether he would give money to a Super PAC, or a dark money group, where they don’t have to disclose who their donors are. And he did not address either one of those. I think the statement left him some wiggle room.
Now, that doesn’t mean that he will donate, Kaitlan. I could see a world where he doesn’t write a big check or any check. But that is the hope of people around Trump, is that he does ultimately give money.
Haberman explained the nuance in Musk’s statement, noting that while he explicitly ruled out direct contributions to candidates, he did not address the possibility of supporting a Super PAC or a dark money group. She suggested that Musk’s statement left room for interpretation and potential future contributions, acknowledging the uncertainty around whether Musk would ultimately donate.
