America PAC

Political leanings: Pro-Donald Trump

2022 total spending: N/A

The pro-Donald Trump America PAC is a super PAC that was created in May and is being backed by Elon Musk, who co-founded Tesla and SpaceX and owns the X social media platform. Musk, the richest person in the world, endorsed Trump for president on July 13 — the day that Trump, the Republican nominee, was shot in an assassination attempt.

Musk took credit for the new political action committee in a July 22 interview with psychologist and author Jordan Peterson. Musk said the idea behind America PAC is “to promote the principles that make America great in the first place.” In a post on X, Musk wrote that “key values of the PAC are supporting a meritocracy & individual freedom,” which he said Republicans “mostly” support.

The paperwork for America PAC was filed by Chris Gober, the super PAC’s treasurer, who also is a Republican campaign finance lawyer. The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, said the group is being led in part by Joe Lonsdale, a venture capitalist, who has helped with fundraising and has donated himself. Generra Peck and Phil Cox, Republican operatives who previously worked on campaigns for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are reportedly helping to run the super PAC, the Times said.

The Wall Street Journal, also citing anonymous sources, reported that Musk planned to donate $45 million per month to the super PAC. However, Musk, in the interview with Peterson, said that news report was “not true.” Musk has given money to the group, according to reporting by the New Republic, although the amount likely will not be revealed until October, when the super PAC’s next quarterly report is due to the Federal Election Commission.

Others who are known to have donated to the super PAC, which can accept and spend unlimited amounts of money influencing voters, include Antonio Gracias, CEO of Valor Equity Partners; Doug Leone, a partner at Sequoia Capital; Joe Craft, an executive at Alliance Resources Partners; and James Liautaud, the founder of food chain Jimmy John’s. They each contributed at least $1 million to America PAC, which had raised about $8.8 million as of June 30, according to the super PAC’s most recent financial disclosure.

But, as of Sept. 17, the group already had spent more than that — about $57.3 million — on independent expenditures supporting or opposing the presidential candidates, according to figures tabulated by the nonpartisan campaign finance website OpenSecrets. About $30.4 million has been spent supporting Trump, and nearly $17.8 million has been used to oppose Vice President Kamala Harris. Before Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee in August, America PAC spent more than $8.8 million against President Joe Biden, who ended his reelection campaign in July.

While super PACs are generally prohibited from coordinating efforts with a candidate’s campaign committee, America PAC, because of an FEC ruling in March, is allowed to coordinate with the Trump campaign on door-to-door canvassing efforts to increase voter turnout, which has been a major focus of the pro-Trump PAC. The group has reportedly discussed spending as much as $160 million to get at least 800,000 voters in swing states to support Trump in the general election.

Several digital or online ads paid for by America PAC also have encouraged people to vote for the former president. One ad, which aired earlier in September, said, “If you sit this election out, Kamala and the crazies will win.” It went on to call Trump an “American badass” who will stop the “nonsense” of higher costs and illegal immigration.

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