Irish Examiner view: Elon Musk's championing of Trump puts US democracy in a dangerous place

Tue, 15 Oct, 2024 - 00:15

The relentless promotion of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy by Elon Musk to his 200m-plus followers on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which was bought by the businessman for $44bn, is unprecedented in US political history.

That the entrepreneur, said to be the wealthiest man in the world, is using the media platform to spread conspiracy theories about Trump’s opponent, vice president Kamala Harris, and the Democratic Party, is only one aspect of how he is impacting the forthcoming election.

He has recently moved his operational base to Pennsylvania, a state he believes will be critical to Trump’s chances of winning and he has also assumed personal control of a Super PAC (political action committee) he has funded with tens of millions of dollars to turn out the vote for the Republican candidate.

Musk’s considerable personal efforts, not to mention the amount of money he is spending, reflect the same intense effort and powerful demands he has finessed while running companies such as SpaceX, Tesla, and X.

Observers say Musk has become obsessive about the need for Trump to win the election because he maintains the stakes are too high to consider any other outcome.

On his personal account on X, he has advised in dire terms of the effects of progressive policies and censorship.

He has also claimed, without basis, that this election could be the last free election in America because the Democrats are trying to fill the country with undocumented immigrants who would reward them with permanent power.

It is all nonsense, of course, but with Musk’s public profile and his enormous wealth, his ability to leverage voters to vote in Trump’s favour is worrying. That he, along with his preferred candidate, is prepared to do almost anything to win what he describes as an “existential” battle puts American democracy in a very dangerous place.

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SF tangled up in its own narrative

Sinn Féin is struggling on a multiplicity of fronts to counter a growing view that it is a party in complete disarray.

With a general election seemingly close at hand, the resignation of Laois-Offaly TD Brian Stanley on the back of unspecified allegations is just one of a number of crises which have enveloped the party in recent months.

Rather than having the luxury of fulminating on its preferred issues of housing and health, the party is yet again having to fend off demands for an explanation as to why it did not engage with the gardaí earlier in this matter.

The picture emerging for the electorate is one of a party which cannot control its own narrative, and Mr Stanley’s resignation — following that of Kildare South TD Patricia Ryan — and further allegations that members have been told stop asking negative questions of party leader Mary Lou McDonald makes this a worrying time for Sinn Féin.

Coming on the back of the reference scandal, whereby two party staffers provided testimonials to a former colleague who has admitted to a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child into sexual activity, this latest matter puts Sinn Féin in further calumny.

With numerous polls indicating a recent and dramatic reduction in support for the party, these matters have put it in deep political waters at a time when its leadership seems incapable of properly addressing them.

However, the issues that have emerged in the past week are not new to Sinn Féin.

The party has a historic record of failing to deal with internal controversies in any sort of a satisfactory manner.

Until it does, its ability to persuade the Irish electorate it is fit for power will remain questionable.

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Play it again

It might have been one of the more curious stolen items ever to have been featured on RTÉ’s old Garda Patrol programme, where facts about crimes of the day were broadcast to the nation in the hope the public might be of assistance.

Exposure on the programme led to the recovery of Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster. It had been stolen from the Five Club in Dublin at some point in 1966. Gallagher had been visiting with impresario Pat Egan, and, in a panic to recover the instrument, the Cork musician asked for help from the producers of Garda Patrol.

Days later, the Strat was found behind a garden wall on Dublin’s South Circular Rd with some strings missing and the body bashed about slightly, but otherwise in good working order. It would go on to become one of the most legendary guitars in rock'n’roll history.

The guitar was purchased by Gallagher for £100 in Crowley’s Music Store on MacCurtain St in Cork City. He had persuaded owner Michael Crowley to allow him pay in instalments.

It is thought this was the first Stratocaster to reach Ireland, having been purchased by Jim Conlon, the guitarist in the Royal Showband. Conlon had ordered a red one — so best to imitate Hank Marvin of The Shadows, the pre-eminent Stratocaster player of the time. But when the instrument arrived it was in the Sunburst colour and Conlon had to use it for 18 months until one with his colour choice eventually arrived. Rory bought the second-hand one and a legend was born.

On Thursday, at Bonhams Auction House in London, it is up for sale with an estimated price of £700,000 to £1m (€833,000 to €1.19m). Tánaiste Micheál Martin has hinted that one of the State’s cultural institutions could move to buy it.

The late Gallagher’s Irish and global musical legacy is gold-plated and it would certainly be fitting if this iconoclastic instrument came into the care of the nation.

Irish Examiner view: Lament for the best kind of nationalist