DOGE chief Elon Musk revealed details about his thought process on endorsing President Trump during a sit-down interview with Trump and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that the president said he had not heard before.
“I was going to do it anyway,” Musk said during the interview that aired Tuesday night when Hannity mentioned that his endorsement of Trump came after an attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania on the campaign trail.
“That was it?” Hannity said.
“That was a precipitating event,” Musk said.
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Musk endorsed Trump shortly after the assassination attempt on his life(AP/Gene J. Puskar/Julia Nikhinson)
“That sped it up a little bit?” Trump then said to Musk. “I didn’t know that.”
Musk responded, “It sped it up, but I was going to do it anyway.”
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Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)(AP Images)
Musk announced that he “fully supports” former President Trump after gunshots rang out at his Pennsylvania rally in July in a move that many, including some Democrats, believe played a significant role in Trump’s campaign.
“Not even just that he has endorsed [Trump], but the fact that now he’s becoming an active participant and showing up and doing rallies and things like that,” Dem. Sen. John Fetterman told the New York Times in October, explaining that the enormously successful Tesla and SpaceX CEO is an attractive figure for the kinds of voters Harris needs to win.
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US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after landing at the Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on February 16, 2025(ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
“I mean, [Musk] is incredibly successful, and, you know, I think some people would see him as, like, a Tony Stark,” said Fetterman, referencing the popular Marvel Comics character. “Democrats, you know, kind of make light of it, or they make fun of him jumping up and down and things like that. And I would just say that they are doing that at our peril.”
In an interview with CNN, Fetterman added, “Endorsements, they’re really not meaningful often, but this one is, I think. That has me concerned.”
Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].
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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has responded after a prominent ex-official endorsed him to run for mayor of New York City against incumbent first-termer Eric Adams.
Former state comptroller Carl McCall, 89, released an open letter backing Cuomo on Saturday. Cuomo has not formally declared his candidacy in the race, though he is polling as the top potential challenger to Adams in June’s primary.
In response to the letter, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid scandals connected to COVID-19 nursing home deaths and sexual harassment claims, acknowledged the history that he and his family share with McCall.
“Carl and I have a special bond that starts before me. I first had the pleasure of meeting Carl when I was in my early 20s when he worked with my father, the late Mario Cuomo, as the state’s human rights commissioner and together the two fought to make New York a fairer, more just place for all who live here.”
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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo arrives to testify before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Rayburn House Office Building at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 10, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“In these divisive and troubling times, his voice is needed more than ever – for his is one of moral clarity, experience and guided by what is right for the people above all else,” Cuomo wrote Saturday.
“Today, in these uncertain times, and after more than four decades of friendship and counsel, I thank him for his faith in me and for his advice, trust and confidence,” Cuomo said. “His sentiments are both humbling and deeply meaningful.”
In his letter, McCall did not cite Adams by name, but he appeared to indirectly slam how the Justice Department on Friday asked a court to dismiss corruption charges against Adams that were filed during the Biden administration. Adams met with President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, last week, agreeing to work together as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cracks down on criminal illegal immigrants.
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“Donald Trump wants us to fail as a community. For that reason, the leadership of New York City has rarely, if ever, been as vital as it is today,” McCall wrote. “The Mayor of New York must not only have the competence and capacity to manage the City’s real challenges, but the mayor must have the ability to defend our city and demonstrate a powerful counterbalance to President Trump. The people of New York cannot be represented by someone whose loyalty to the city is compromised — we deserve a Mayor of New York to be for New York.”
New York Democratic gubernatorial candidates Carl McCall and Andrew Cuomo at an event supporting the raising of the state minimum wage on May 2, 2002.(Mario Tama/Getty Images)
McCall, a Black elder statesman who once ran in a contentious gubernational primary against Cuomo in 2002, turned on Adams, who is New York City’s second Black mayor. McCall endorsed Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign.
“I have never publicly urged a candidate to run for office. But I have never before felt it so necessary to use my voice,” McCall wrote Saturday. “For these reasons, I urge Governor Andrew Cuomo to run for Mayor of the City of New York and I offer my full support.”
“I’ve known Andrew for over 40 years. Some might be surprised that I am supporting Andrew so strongly and so early,” the letter continued. “But despite how it is sometimes framed in the press, we were never political adversaries: twenty years ago, we were competing candidates who shared then and share now the same core values of what is right and wrong and sought to make New York a better place.”
“More than anyone else, Andrew is the leader we need and the leader we deserve,” McCall wrote.
Despite still not having declared a mayoral bid, Cuomo released a campaign-style video on Valentine’s Day, in which he told senior citizens, “I missed you,” and declaring that “the strongest four-letter word is not hate, it’s love.”
Democratic politician Carl McCall was elected as New York Comptroller in 1994. (Bob Berg/Getty Images)
Albany politicians have questioned Adams’ independence from Trump after the DOJ asked that the corruption charges be dropped, and some prosecutors resigned amid allegations of a quid pro quo agreement.
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In response, Adams said Friday on X, “I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never.”
Moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, revealed her plan to support Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Monday evening.
“After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence,” she said in a statement.
“As one of the principal authors of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that established this coordinating position, I understand the critical role the DNI plays in the Intelligence Community. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, however, has become far larger than it was designed to be, and Ms. Gabbard shares my vision of returning the agency to its intended size. In response to my questions during our discussion in my office and at the open hearing, as well as through her explanation at the closed hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Ms. Gabbard addressed my concerns regarding her views on Edward Snowden. I look forward to working with Ms. Gabbard to strengthen our national security.”
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Collins said she would vote to advance Gabbard’s nomination.(Reuters)
Collins sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which will embark on a pivotal vote on Gabbard’s nomination on Tuesday, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The Maine Republican has developed a reputation for occasionally bucking her party, most recently doing so on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation vote.
Her support for Gabbard at the committee level was thus far from certain.
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Collins voted against Pete Hegseth.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
She joins a handful of other committee Republicans who have already said they will vote to advance Gabbard to the Senate floor, including Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and James Lankford, R-Okla.
However, another GOP senator on the committee is still considered one to watch, as Gabbard is expected to need all of the Republican members’ votes to move forward.
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Young hasn’t revealed how he plans to vote.(Alex Wong)
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., hasn’t said how he plans to vote in committee. Because of this, he’s managed to garner the criticism of Trump-aligned billionaire Elon Musk, who recently claimed on X that Young is a “deep state puppet” in regard to his uncertainty about Gabbard. The post has since been deleted.
A spokesperson for Young told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Senator Young and Mr. Musk had a great conversation on a number of subjects and policy areas where they have a shared interest, like DOGE.”
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Musk spoke with Young on the phone.(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Musk also shared on X over the weekend, explaining, “Just had an excellent conversation with [Young]. I stand corrected. Senator Young will be a great ally in restoring power to the people from the vast, unelected bureaucracy.”
While Collins’ support bodes well for Gabbard’s fate at the committee level, it also forecasts a better outlook among the full Senate, given her vote against Hegseth. If she advances to a floor vote, Gabbard can afford to lose just three Republican votes, assuming she does not get any Democratic backing.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
