Trump beholden to Elon Musk [letter]

I was amused to read that, during his recent visit to Lancaster, Elon Musk said that we should vote for Donald Trump because he is "not beholden to anyone" ( "Hundreds crowd Elon Musk town hall in city," Oct. 27 Sunday LNP | LancasterOnline ).

In truth, Trump is massively beholden — to Elon Musk.

Musk has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help get Trump elected, apparently in exchange for a promise to head a proposed "government efficiency panel."

Musk has turned X (formerly Twitter) into a sewer of misinformation, posting flagrant lies and even Russian disinformation, all in the service of promoting Trump's unhinged views.

Musk, like Trump, blames all our problems on immigrants who crossed the border illegally.

Now it turns out that Musk himself was once an immigrant who was in the United States illegally. In the mid-1990s, Musk (then a Canadian citizen) was in the United States on a student visa, but never enrolled in classes. Instead, he started a tech firm that was later sold for $300 million. Working in this country without a valid work permit is a violation of U.S. law, and grounds for deportation.

The hypocrisy is breathtaking.

The Wall Street Journal reports that, for two years, Musk has been in "regular contact" with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Because of his work with NASA, Musk has a security clearance, so he is not permitted to have unauthorized contact with hostile governments. NASA's top administrator has called for a government investigation into this apparent security breach.

For those still looking for a reason to vote against Donald Trump, consider the unholy alliance between Trump and Musk sufficient reason.

Tom Gates

Manheim Township