Elon Musk says the real threat to democracy is the people who accuse Trump of endangering it

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Technology mogul Elon Muskspoke at a town hall in Pennsylvania on Saturday evening to support Republicans Donald Trumpdownplayed January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, urging supporters to vote early in the presidential race while calling mail-in ballots a “recipe for fraud.”

The casual session in a downtown Lancaster hotel ballroom touched on a dizzying range of topics, from space exploration and the Tesla cybertruck to immigration and the effectiveness of psychiatric drugs. The town hall was part of Musk's efforts with his super PAC to strengthen Trump against Democrats in swing states ahead of the November 5 presidential election Kamala Harris.

Musk, whom Trump wanted to give a role in his administration if he wins next month, spent nearly two hours answering questions from town hall attendees. While most were laudatory and covered a variety of topics, one was particularly pointed: One man wanted to know what Musk would say about voters' concerns that Trump's election, given his role on January 6, 2021, would lead to a backsliding in democracy the US could lead to turmoil.

While calling the question a fair one, Musk also said that the Jan. 6 attack was described by Trump's supporters as “a type of violent insurrection that just isn't the case” — a reaction that drew applause from the crowd. More than 100 police officers were injured in the attack beaten with their own weaponsthan a mob of Trump supporters believed his lies that the 2020 election was stolen From there, he stormed the Capitol to stop the vote certification.

Musk also claimed that people “who say Trump is a threat to democracy are themselves a threat to democracy,” a comment that was also cheered by the crowd of several hundred people in the ballroom. Many more watched the event on X, the social media platform Musk bought two years ago.

Trump, he said, “actually told people not to be violent.” While Trump told the crowd on Jan. 6 to protest “peacefully and patriotically,” he did encouraged them to “fight like hell” to prevent Democrat Joe Biden from becoming president.

Musk, the richest man in the world, has more than $70 million pledged to boost Trump in the election and has encouraged his supporters to vote early at events on behalf of his super PAC. Still, Musk, who expressed some of Trump's concerns about the method, expressed his own doubts about the procedure. He said mail-in ballots should not be accepted in the future, calling them a strange anomaly that has become popular during the COVID-19 pandemic and increases the possibility of fraud.

There is one Number of protection measures to protect mail-in ballots with various ballot verification protocols, including all states that require a voter's signature.

The question about Jan. 6 was a blip during the back-and-forth with the crowd, which repeatedly praised Musk as a visionary and asked for advice and thoughts on education, arm wrestling, tax loopholes and whether he would buy the Chicago became White Sox. (He said he was a technician and had to pick his battles.)

Musk said he supported “non-heavy-handed” regulation of artificial intelligence and railed against “woke religion” as “fundamentally an endangered religion.” He said the birth rate in the U.S. is a big problem.

He said he believes Jesus was a real person who lived about 2,000 years ago, and when asked about the best advice he's ever received, he replied, “I recommend studying physics.”

He also called a woman to the stage to present her with a large check for $1 million. This was part of his promotion to donate $1 million a day to a voter in a swing state who signed his super PAC's petition supporting the U.S. Constitution.

Josh Fox, 32, a UPS driver from Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, approves of the giveaways.

“This is cool,” Fox said, waiting to get into Saturday’s rally. “It would be nice to have it.”

Fox, who plans to vote for Trump, dismissed suggestions that the money might constitute a violation Federal election rules.

“It’s about supporting the Constitution and attracting people who support the Constitution,” Fox said.