Elon Musk’s $1 million gifts are “deeply concerning,” says Josh Shapiro

The flow of Elon Musk’s dark money into Pennsylvania and beyond this election cycle is “deeply concerning,” the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, told Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”

“I think there are real questions about how he’s spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing not only into Pennsylvania but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro said.

“This is deeply worrying. Look, Musk obviously has the right to express his views. He’s made it very, very clear that he supports Donald Trump. Not me – obviously we have different opinions. I do not deny him this right. But when you start pouring that kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions that maybe people should start looking at.”

Shapiro stopped short of calling Musk’s plan illegal, but noted that he believes “law enforcement may look into it.” He previously worked as a district attorney.

During a speech at a Trump campaign event on Saturday, Musk said he would donate $1 million a day to a registered voter who signed his America PAC petition. Some experts have noted that offering a cash payment to sign a petition could violate the law because the signer must be registered to vote.

However, others have noted that internet regulations, First Amendment limits and even campaign finance laws do not provide enough evidence that Musk broke the law with his past support for Trump by paying people to sign up for his PAC, before announcing the new giveaway. “This is where the Musk critics are reaching their limits,” Matt Bilinsky, an L.A.-based attorney and Fox News contributor, told TheWrap.

The petition in question supports the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution – the right to free speech and the right to bear arms, respectively. Musk’s PAC is currently touring the state of Pennsylvania and the tech CEO is registering voters for Trump.

On the subject of Pennsylvania, Shapiro acknowledged that the election race will likely be close. “Let me explain: In 2016, the race was decided by 44,000 votes. Donald Trump won here in Pennsylvania. In 2020, the race was decided by 80,000 votes. Joe Biden won. In both cases it came down to one point or less. The fact that there are polls that show it’s a bounce ball, a statistical dead heat, maybe Kamala Harris is ahead by a point or something – that’s not a shock,” he explained.

“We understand that these races are close,” Shapiro added. “You have to fight for every vote. And even though we are a large state, we are still a retail state. You have to show up. And I’m encouraged that the vice president has been here so many times and has committed to coming back here many more times before Election Day.”

You can watch the interview with Governor Josh Shapiro in the video above.