We may have billionaire Republican investor Nelson Peltz to thank for Elon Musk’s newfound omnipresence in politics.
Peltz, the non-executive chairman of Wendy’s Company (and father of actress Nicola Peltz Beckham), said at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha Conference Wednesday that he hosted Musk, a friend of his, and Donald Trump earlier this year.
“Elon was at the house for a weekend, and we had a breakfast and invited Donald for breakfast, and they sort of reunited again,” Peltz said on stage. “I was a matchmaker.
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“That was late last spring, and since then, look, I don’t know that Donald would have had this sweeping victory without Elon. Elon was in Pennsylvania, I thought he was going to be Amish, he was there full time,” he continued.
Peltz also spoke highly of Musk’s new non-government government agency, the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump tapped Musk along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to cut down on federal spending.
“If Donald gives him the opportunity he will cut costs. And that’s what we need to do,” Peltz said. “We need to cut costs.”
Peltz has long been a prominent Republican donor, but has been a more reluctant supporter of Trump. He claimed he did not vote for Trump in 2016, though he did donate to Trump’s campaign. In 2020, he held a huge fundraiser for Trump. But after Jan. 6, he told CNBC: “I voted for him in this past election in November. Today I’m sorry I did that.”
Peltz was an early supporter of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign, but then threw his support behind Trump over concern of Joe Biden’s “mental condition.”
Read it at The Hollywood Reporter
