Billionaire Elon Musk has thrown his support behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s bid for the French presidency, calling her “France’s last hope”, and prompting accusations of foreign interference in the 2027 election.
Billionaire Elon Musk has thrown his support behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s bid for the French presidency, calling her “France’s last hope”, and prompting accusations of foreign interference in the 2027 election.
Isn’t this what the right accuses George Soros of? So the outrage is already there.
That’s comparing apples and oranges: Musk supports the far right (even extremists) that’s fighting democracy, Soros supports democrats.
No, it’s comparing apples to rotten apples. It is the same thing, it is using excessive personal wealth to influence politics, but obviously one of the two is much more disgusting, and even damaging to your health, than the other.
The issue isn’t whether wealthy people try to influence politics: many do. The distinction is what they’re promoting. Equating support for mainstream democratic parties with support for parties or movements accused of undermining democratic institutions erases an important difference. ‘Rich people spend money on politics’ is the similarity. The political goals and consequences are where the comparison breaks down.