Police found Paul Pelosi, 82, being attacked with a hammer inside his home by a man, David DePape, who had come in through the back door looking for the speaker. Musk’s tweet, which was later deleted, came in response to a tweet posted Saturday by Hillary Clinton attacking Republicans for spreading “hate and deranged conspiracy theories” that she said encouraged the man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband. In a response to Clinton’s post, Musk wrote, “There’s a small chance there’s more to this story than meets the eye,” and then shared a link to an article in a fake newspaper, the Santa Monica Observer, on which gonzo appeared claim about Paul Pelosi. By the way, this is the same Santa Monica Observer who in 2016 claimed that Clinton was dead and that a body double was sent to debate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. If Musk’s tweet doesn’t raise red flags around the world about his judgment and character, just days after taking over one of the biggest and most important media machines on the planet, I don’t know what will. Doesn’t Musk know the world is watching to see how in charge he is, as the new owner of Twitter? The fact that he’s personally posting such an unhinged, dangerous move within three days of taking over the platform suggests he doesn’t give a damn. Does he need to be reminded that America and the world are at a moment in history when despicable lies have horrific consequences? The husband of the Speaker of the Parliament was almost murdered because of such lies. That Musk would choose this tragedy to demonstrate the disgusting extremes such despicable lies can reach is another indictment of his character and judgment. We’re just over a week away from an election in which most Republican candidates for office are espousing Trump’s big lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him, in the most immediate challenge to American democracy since the Civil War. But what is Musk’s answer? To cause even more division with yet another lie, while setting the stage for Trump’s imminent return. Can anyone seriously believe that Musk will be the responsible custodian of one of the most influential media outlets in the world? Surprisingly, Sunday’s tweet from Musk comes right after he promised in an open letter to advertisers that Twitter will not become a free site that allows completely unlimited commenting. “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said without consequence,” he wrote. “Twitter aspires to be the world’s most respected advertising platform.” Trash. By publishing the lie about Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Musk has just demonstrated his willingness – no, his willingness – to make Twitter a free-for-all hell. I’ve long had my doubts about Musk’s character and judgment. He has repeatedly proven himself to be impetuous, unreliable, self-serving and arrogant. In March 2020 he tweeted that children were “essentially immune” to Covid. He has promoted cryptocurrencies in which he has invested. When a student opened a Twitter account to track his private plane, Musk tried and failed to buy it out, before blocking it. The Securities and Exchange Commission went after Musk after he tweeted that he had financing to take Tesla private, a clear violation of the law. But his latest foray shows that I may have overrated him. No one in a decent civil society should have the unchecked power that Elon Musk has amassed. He needs to quit Twitter. If he doesn’t, the rest of us will have to jump his stinking ship.
