Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary praised Elon Musk’s potential role in Donald Trump’s cabinet, claiming it would be beneficial for everyone involved.
O’Leary Ventures chairman Kevin O’Leary, 70, has compared Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a “modern-day Bruce Wayne,” Batman’s alter ego. O’Leary’s endorsement of Musk comes just days after the billionaire backed Donald Trump.
On the other hand, Musk’s rival, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, is said to have told Trump that he will not support the Democrats in the upcoming 2024 presidential election, but has not yet commented on whether he supports the former president.
Musk interviewed the Republican candidate on Spaces, X’s live audio platform. Kevin O’Leary declared himself a “big fan” of Elon Musk on Tuesday on “The Big Money Show.” The 70-year-old investor was reacting to Musk’s recent interview with Trump.
O’Leary: America needs more “Elon Musks”
“To be blunt, my son works for him and loves his job at Tesla. And I think (Elon) is a modern-day Bruce Wayne,” he continued. “If he got involved in government, that would be a good thing for everyone in America.”
Musk spoke with the former president for about two hours on Monday. The two discussed topics relevant to the upcoming US election, including opponents Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.
O’Leary described the 53-year-old business magnate as a straightforward, highly competent leader with a proven track record, and said having more people with similar qualities in government could help improve the divided state.
The Tesla CEO spoke with Trump for about two hours. Their wide-ranging conversation eventually gained momentum after some initial technical difficulties. Anti-Trump critics, however, spared no effort to find fault with everything from Trump’s rhetoric to Musk’s questions.
According to a report by Fox Business, most of the headlines criticizing Musk following the Trump-X event were partisan opinion pieces. Moreover, even the posts Musk responded to included a blunt Fox News article highlighting the Harris campaign’s response to the Musk-Trump event.
“The guy doesn’t mince his words,” O’Leary said. He’s very outspoken and really knows what he’s doing. He’s got assertiveness. You may not like him, you may not like his communication style, but look at what he’s accomplished.”
“If we could get more Elon Musk in government, this country wouldn’t be in the situation it’s in and wouldn’t be so divided,” he added.
O’Leary takes aim at Walz’s economic record
O’Leary further noted that he did “a little bit of research” on Tim Walz last week, as he knew nothing about Harris’ vice presidential pick. According to O’Leary, Walz is not a good manager. “If you look at his leadership of his state of Minnesota, it has not been good,” O’Leary explained.
O’Leary addressed allegations of partisanship to clarify his support for Musk. He also explained that his criticism of Walz stems from the former school teacher’s role in job losses across various sectors. Walz is the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was elected in 2018 and is seeking re-election in 2022.
During his time in office, Walz has achieved a number of important milestones, including his administration implementing free school meals for all, protecting reproductive rights, improving voting protections and setting the stage for Minnesota to have 100 percent clean electricity by 2040.
In addition, he has cut taxes for the middle class and expanded paid leave for workers across the state. During his tenure as governor, Walz has spared no effort to make Minnesota the best state to raise a family, according to his biography on Minnesota’s official website.
“People say, ‘Oh, you’re partisan, you’re partisan.’ No, I’m not. I look at the track record of a person who came into a state and killed off job creation,” O’Leary continued. “He killed off job creation in professional services, in manufacturing, in accounting. Every subcategory you look at, those jobs went to South Dakota, North Dakota.”
O’Leary said Minnesota’s job growth is primarily in state-funded sectors such as health and human services, while other industries are declining. He criticized the state’s tax policies, including a new 1% surcharge on existing taxes, which he said is causing many residents to leave the state.
His criticism of Minnesota’s economic landscape paints a grim picture of a state struggling to remain competitive. The entrepreneur’s admiration for Elon Musk’s leadership style and business success has led him to believe that having more people with similar qualities in government could greatly improve the country’s overall progress.
