Hours before pulling the plug on X's partnership with Don Lemon, Elon Musk revealed his preferred candidate in the presidential race.
Musk told Don Lemon that he is "leaning away" from supporting President Joe Biden in the presidential race. The billionaire conveyed this to the former CNN mere hours before terminating X's partnership with Lemon.
In a snippet aired on CNN earlier this week, Lemon questioned Musk about his inclinations towards any particular candidate in the election. The ever-controversial owner of X responded negatively, but Lemon reiterated his inquiry.
"I'm leaning away from Biden," Musk said, laughing. Musk, who previously admitted that he voted for Biden in 2020, hasn't shied away from voicing his disapproval of the president on his social media platform of late.
For instance, he recently echoed the conspiracy theory of far-right chat rooms by accusing Biden of importing migrants for votes, laying the groundwork for "something far worse than 9/11." Individuals who have conversed with Musk claim he wants Biden to be unsuccessful in the election.
"I think I would not vote for Biden," Musk said at the New York Times Dealbook conference last year, as per a Bloomberg report. "I'm not saying I'd vote for Trump," he added with an audible sigh. "This is definitely a difficult choice here."
Elon Musk's evolving political stance
Musk has reiterated his stance on not contributing to the campaign of the criminally indicted former president, Donald Trump. Interestingly, Trump attributes Musk's potential lack of support to their "opposing views" on electric cars.
Lemon asked Musk about his recent encounter with Trump in Florida, which the X owner casually dismissed as a coincidence. The 52-year-old business magnate explained that he was having breakfast at a friend's residence when "Trump happened to stop by."
When further pressed by the renowned television journalist regarding the discussion, Musk said, "Let's just say [Trump] dominated the conversation." Musk clarified that the former president did not ask for money or donations and emphasised he wasn't planning to help Trump with his legal bills "in any shape or form."
Since Musk terminated X's partnership with X after the interview, Lemon said the premiere and finale of their deal will be aired on YouTube next Monday. According to Lemon, Musk cancelled his partnership with X because the billionaire was "mad" at him over their recent interview, which he described in an Instagram post as "tense."
"There were no restrictions on the interview that he willingly agreed to, and my questions were respectful and wide-ranging, covering everything from SpaceX to the presidential election. We had a good conversation," Lemon said in a statement. "Clearly, he felt differently."
Musk and X haven't restricted Lemon from posting his show on social media sites despite the end of the formal partnership.