Josh Shapiro questions whether Musk’s $1M giveaway is legal

By Jonathan D. Salant / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WASHINGTON — Gov. Josh Shapiro suggested Sunday that law enforcement authorities should investigate entrepreneur Elon Musk’s offer to pay $1 million a day to voters in Pennsylvania and other swing states who sign up to support a petition favoring gun rights and opposing efforts to stop the spread of misinformation.

Mr. Shapiro questioned the legality of America PAC, funded with $75 million in donations from Mr. Musk, paying people to sign the petitions, with positions mirroring those of former President Donald Trump.

“I think it's something that law enforcement could take a look at,” Mr. Shapiro said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I'm not the attorney general anymore of Pennsylvania. I'm the governor, but it does raise some serious questions.”

Mr. Musk has endorsed Trump, has used the social media site X that he owns to back the Republican nominee, and is holding a Sunday town hall in McKees Rocks on behalf of the former president.

“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians,” Mr. Shapiro said. “That is deeply concerning. Look, Musk obviously has a right to be able to express his views. He's made it very, very clear that he supports Donald Trump. Obviously, we have a difference of opinion. I don't deny him that right. But when you start flowing this kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions that folks may want to take a look at.”

Mr. Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent through Tesla, the electric car company he owns.

Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral votes, is the most populous battleground state and one that Mr. Shapiro called a “must-win” for Vice President Kamala Harris is a separate appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

“It’s a must win and we want to win here, and I think both candidates believe that Pennsylvania is critical,” Mr Shapiro said. “I just think we’ve got a better candidate, we’ve got a better message, and what we’re  experiencing when we’re out is we’re seeing a lot more energy.”

Mr. Shapiro said that one of his jobs in the closing days of the campaign is to remind voters of what Trump did — or didn’t do — when he served in the White House.

"He has a history of failing to deliver over and over and over again,” Mr. Shapiro said on ABC. “Part of our responsibility here is making sure we’re letting folks know that despite the noise, despite the bluster, despite the words that come out of his mouth, they’re empty promises now. … We’ve got the receipts to prove that when he had the keys to the White House before, he failed the American people. Time and time again.”

That’s how Ms. Harris will do well in Republican Beaver County, Mr. Shapiro said. 

“They saw Donald Trump in charge for four years and he didn’t make the situation in Beaver County better,” Mr. Shapiro said. “In fact, he brought more chaos. The good folks out there are really discerning.”

Polls show the two candidates running neck and neck in the Keystone State, and Mr. Shapiro predicted on NBC that the election will come down to the wire.

“If past is prologue, we're set for another close race here in Pennsylvania,” Mr. Shapiro said. “So the fact that you have polls showing that it's, you know, a jump ball, a statistical dead heat, maybe Kamala Harris is up a point or so — that is not a shock. … You've got to compete for every vote. And while we're a big state, we're still a retail state. You’ve got to show up. And I'm encouraged by the fact that the vice president has been here so much and is committed to coming back here many times before Election Day.”

In the end, Mr. Shapiro said on ABC, he expected his candidate to come out on top.

“I think Kamala Harris wins, but make no mistake, it's close,” Mr. Shapiro of Pennsylvania. “We're not afraid of that. … It causes us to get out and work, and that's what we're doing.”