OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday that she believes people are looking into entrepreneur Elon Musk’s offer to give away $1 million per day to a randomly selected voter who signs a petition committing to defend free speech and the right to bear arms.
Musk has faced questions about whether such techniques on behalf of his America PAC political committee, which is assisting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, are lawful. Harris did not express her opinion on the giveaways; she only stated that she had heard that people are looking into it based on media reports.
Musk made the revelation Saturday night at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and presented the first check to an audience member.
Prior to the recent $1 million announcement, election-law experts were divided on whether awarding rewards for signing the petition, which was only open to registered voters, violated the law by incentivizing registration. A Musk attorney did not respond to a request for comment on the subject.
A reporter asked Harris: “Elon Musk is giving away $1 million a day to voters who sign a petition. Do you have concerns about that in the context of law? You know, this legal framework around elections. And secondly, a Reuters investigation has shown something like 300 cases of political violence already in the run-up to the election. Can you just address what can be done and what the federal government can do to push back against that?”
“Well, on the first point, I think people are looking into that. On the second point — “ Harris began before the reporter cut her off.
The reporter followed up: “When you say people, do you mean the U.S. government?”
“I mean, I hear the folks are looking into it, just based on the stuff you all are reporting. On the second point, there should be no place in America where we are seeing political violence. And sadly, we have seen, if we just look back to January 6th, when that occurred in a way that was most shocking and brought on because, of course, of Donald Trump, who incited a mob, a violent mob that attacked the United States Capitol, wherein over 140 uniformed law enforcement officers were injured and some were killed,” Harris responded.
“And where Donald Trump has still yet to acknowledge the travesty of that day and the political violence that occurred that day. So I will say and repeat what I think most people understand: In America, in a democracy, we should have no room for, nor should we ever condone, any form of political violence,” Harris continued.
Harris added, “In a democracy, people will debate, people will disagree, but not resort to violence. And everyone should speak out about that, including and especially anybody who’s running for president of the United States. Thank you all.”
WATCH:
This comes as Harris’ campaign is beginning to hit the panic button.
The “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have provided the road to the White House for the last few elections.
However, with only 14 days until the November 5 election, there are fears within Kamala Harris’ team about the vice president’s ability to win all three states. Harris’s team is also worried that North Carolina has “slipped away.”
“Recent discussions have centered on the possibility of an anomaly happening this year with just part of the blue wall breaking its way. The conversations have focused on whether Michigan or Wisconsin “fall” to former President Donald Trump while the two other states go blue, according to three sources with knowledge of the campaign’s strategy,” NBC News reported.
“Losing Wisconsin or Michigan would mean that even if Harris secures Pennsylvania — where both Harris and Trump have spent the most time and resources — she would not reach the necessary 270 electoral votes to win the White House without winning another battleground state or possibly two,” the outlet added.
“There has been a thought that maybe Michigan or Wisconsin will fall off,” said a senior Harris campaign official, who stressed that the bigger concern is over Michigan.
Two other campaign strategists — who, like others in this piece, were granted anonymity to talk freely — expressed great concern about Michigan. Those people continue to believe that all states are near and that there are alternate paths to victory.
NBC News added: “But also potentially troubling for Democrats: What Harris’ campaign had thought was one of its best insurance possibilities may also be in peril. Just a few weeks ago, several Harris advisers in interviews pointed to the combination of electoral votes from North Carolina and Nevada as a strong alternative path for Harris should Trump win Pennsylvania and claim its 19 electoral votes. While North Carolina is still in the campaign’s sights and Democrats maintain strong organization and leadership there, the Harris team is far less bullish about victory, four people with knowledge of the dynamics said.”
“Of all of the seven [states], that one seems to be a little bit slipping away,” the Harris campaign official said of North Carolina.
