Was this the start of a US Presidential campaign

[moka]

It looks like the betting money is on Trump. Apparently Musk tweeted and the money started piling on a Trump win. Fredi9999 bet heavily on Trump.

Musk and Trump are a very dangerous combination IMO. Both are polarising figures.
Musk has increasingly used X to amplify his own political views and those of right-wing figures he aligns with. This has raised concerns about the platform's role in shaping political narratives and its potential to become an echo chamber for certain ideologies.

While Musk presents himself as a champion of free speech, his actions and the policies implemented on X have often contradicted this claim, leading to ongoing debates about the true nature of his commitment to free expression and the impact of his leadership on public discourse.

https://theweek.com/politics/elon-musk-donald-trump-election-pennsylvania-campaign

As the 2024 presidential election enters its final stretch, the world's richest man has moved not only to align himself with Trump's MAGA movement but is now actively using his historic wealth and influence to facilitate the GOP's electoral success. Trump, meanwhile, has said that, if elected, he would task Musk with leading an "efficiency commission" to audit the whole of the federal government — with which Musk happens to have numerous lucrative contracts.

Beyond his financial clout, Musk's ownership of X also presents a lever for his partisan activism. Despite the "waning" influence of the once-dominant social media platform, X remains a "space peopled with politicians, journalists and politically engaged users" in which Musk can "elevate certain stories and individuals, or perhaps direct attention away from those that are less politically expedient," The New Statesman said. "In a race with fine margins, that limited impact can alter outcomes."

Musk's financial influence on the race — and particularly his $47 per pledge effort — "speaks volumes about how Musk and the MAGA movement think democracy works," said Democratic strategist Max Burns at The Hill. That Musk would use rhetoric like predicting this would be the "last election" will have "dangerous consequences" in 2025 and beyond, no matter who wins in November, said CNN's Brian Stelter. "That kind of rhetoric is going to make it very hard for all of us to be Americans, to be neighbors next year."

[jonu]

You are making a false claim when you say whoever loses will be convinced they have been screwed. It is Trump and his supporters who will be claiming they have been screwed if they lose, not the Democrats. Trump did it the last election.

Donald Trump has been ramping up rhetoric that could potentially challenge the 2024 election outcome if he loses. He's accused Democrats of cheating and threatened to jail election workers.
The Harris campaign and Democrats are concerned that these actions by Republicans are intended to sow doubt about the election results if Trump loses. They are preparing legal responses and working to ensure a fair election.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trum...y?id=114569420
How Trump is laying the groundwork to possibly challenge the 2024 election results

A false claim? Interesting given that the US election is still a month away. Hillary Clinton also made claims about stolen elections etc when she lost to Trump.

Do you agree that social media and the algorithms that the tech giants slant for their own purposes, have exacerbated division in society?

[Panda-NZ-]

Musk and Trump are a very dangerous combination IMO. Both are polarising figures.
Musk has increasingly used X to amplify his own political views and those of right-wing figures he aligns with. This has raised concerns about the platform's role in shaping political narratives and its potential to become an echo chamber for certain ideologies.

It's clear humans have a negativity bias - a single negative story influences us more than 3 positive ones on the exact same issue (and leads to anxiety and anger). In nature it would have helped us avoid risks in a harsh world.

https://www.verywellmind.com/negative-bias-4589618

The algorithms on Meta prioritise user engagement - it's not necessarily their fault we are addicted to negative things. It still should be changed to help us overcome these primitive instincts.

What elon is doing is more sinister though - actively tilting it to negativity so it becomes a cesspool.

[moka]

...............................
Do you agree that social media and the algorithms that the tech giants slant for their own purposes, have exacerbated division in society?

I agree that social media and even mainstream media have exacerbated division in society.

Division in the US increased after the 2008 GFC, as it does after all recessions. Middle-class incomes stagnated, economic insecurity increased, distrust in institutions increased, trust in government declined, and many people believed the system was rigged. The perceived unfairness of government bailouts for financial institutions while many Americans struggled economically fueled resentment and division. This was amplified by social media.

However, I think that the more controversial liberal policies such as gender identity and the “what is a woman” question were really amplified to distract people from questioning the more important issues of economic inequality and corporate influence in politics which the Occupy Wall Street movement raised.

Corporations have increasingly become involved in divisive political and social issues, contributing to polarization over controversial liberal policies in several ways.
This corporate "political posturing" on divisive issues has contributed to increased partisanship.
While some level of political disagreement is normal and healthy in a democracy, extreme polarization poses significant challenges, and undermines true democracy. Neoliberalism and corporate interests have helped sabotage democratic processes.

[moka]

Mark Milley - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - the top military commander in the United States and appointed by Trump - had a few choice comments about Trump. Interesting reading through the comments about the importance of the US constitution but then those same people seemingly support Trump when he has total and complete disregard for said constitution.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ar-AA1s6KQ9

I see Mark Milley uses the F-word to describe Trump. He says Trump is a “fascist to the core.”
There seems to be quite a few groups of people that Trump would like to purge including election workers who stand in the way of him being elected as president, those he believes are conducting "witch hunts” against him, students who participate in protests advocating for human rights in Gaza and the West Bank, and of course immigrants and not just those who eat cats and dogs.

[Daytr]

A false claim? Interesting given that the US election is still a month away. Hillary Clinton also made claims about stolen elections etc when she lost to Trump.

Do you agree that social media and the algorithms that the tech giants slant for their own purposes, have exacerbated division in society?

Yes, a false claim. How can you even compare the two with any semblance of authenticity.

Yes, there have been claims of Russian interference which are no doubt true. Anyone would be naive to think the Russians didn't try to influence the outcome of US elections.
Yes, the email scandal dropped just before the election, lovely coincidence that huh, an anonymous source drops a file into the FBI weeks before the election.
But none of these are claims that the election result was stolen, or fraudulent, even though just those things alone probably cost Clinton the election, as it was incredibly tight and she actually one the popular vote by over 2M votes.

Whereas within the Trump camp there are people now in jail for actually trying to steal the election let alone what the capitol riot was about encouraged by Trump and could have ended up being.
Trump continually denies the result of the 2020 election and repeats the lie it was stolen, this is the actual candidate saying as does Vance.

When you have to stretch and bend the truth to suit your argument, doesn't it make it question your stance?
Like religion was the reason for 60M Chinese dying, it wasn't.

Even when Gore lost to Bush way back the Democrats stepped back and allowed the result to stand, despite Bush's brother being ensconced in the State that decided the election and there were all sorts of games being played with ballots.

But don't let the truth stand in the way of a good story eh.

[Panda-NZ-]

Funny thing is the electoral college plus the 2 senators per state regardless of size, and even house elections (gerrymandered districts) disadvantage democrats.

Trump should easily win in the above circumstances.

[Daytr]

Spot on Panda and yet I have seen posts on here claiming the exact opposite.
But facts mean little to some posters on here.

Either way I am worried as the election is too close to call which is quite incredible considering the Red candidate.