Putin’s Little Finger

Hello. It’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️

The Wall Street Journal provided inside details on Thursday about Elon Musk’s ongoing phone calls with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

There’s an obvious national security issue here, as the piece notes: Through SpaceX, Musk is a top defense contractor for the U.S. government. He gives the DoD access to space, where some of the country’s most sensitive technologies are employed. The vulnerabilities of that arrangement are, to some extent, already known: Federal intelligence agencies warned last year that Russian and Chinese spies are targeting SpaceX in an effort to steal sensitive technology.

But focusing on the narrow national security, espionage-related angles here somewhat undersells the story.

Musk has spent the past several years building out his place as a sine qua non right-wing apparatchik. Conservative movement influencers praise his acquisition of Twitter because they see it as having seized the public forum where journalists, politicians, think tankers, and others discuss and form ideas, tilting the platform far to the right. (Take a look at your “For You” tab if you disagree with that diagnosis.) Others, on the even further right, have floated Musk as a supposed “man of destiny,” a figure capable of action that would rout the left once and for all.

As his influence grew in American domestic politics, Musk began to play a larger role internationally. He supplied Starlink terminals to Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion, providing what soldiers there have described as a vital communications link for the military. But as the war went on in its first year, reports started to emerge that Musk had begun to speak with senior Kremlin officials. Late in 2022, Musk began to restrict access to Starlink for Ukrainian troops, and began to make pro-Russian statements online. He complained that SpaceX couldn’t afford the expense of running Starlink for Ukraine; geopolitical analyst Ian Bremmer said at the time on Twitter that Musk had told him that he spoke with Putin and other Kremlin officials. Since then, the WSJ reported, Musk has maintained contact with top Russians; at one point, the paper reported, Musk declined to activate Starlink in Taiwan. The Kremlin had asked for it as a favor to the Chinese regime.

There aren’t borders to political currents. You might, for good reason, think that Trump is an authoritarian at home; the facts suggest that Musk is engaging with its global axis. For him, the benefit is lower taxes, lax regulations, and (maybe) the chance to shape how the government treats his heavily regulated businesses. It’s an abdication in a way: he’s not acting as an independent businessman with interests apart from those of the government. Rather, he’s subordinating himself (and his interests) to those of a potential future leader. Be it for Trump or for Putin, the relationship is the same: the oligarch only gets to play so long as the king is happy.

— Josh Kovensky

Here’s what else TPM has on tap this weekend:

• Khaya Himmelman details how state election administrators are already debunking a wave of election misinformation, some spread by members of Congress, as early voting gets underway. 
• Emine Yücel, meanwhile, takes note of the election violence we’re already seeing, and the violence law enforcement is readying itself for. 
• New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu acknowledges that when you support Trump, supporting authoritarianism is already kind of “baked in,” Emine Yücel writes.

Let’s dig in. 

Election Officials Are Already Working Hard To Get Out Ahead Of MAGA Conspiracy Theories …

Still reeling from the dangerous aftermath of 2020, election officials across the country are bracing for an onslaught of election misinformation and conspiracy theories as Election Day draws nearer.

In Georgia, GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been working to dispel conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines, freshly spread by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and far-right broadcaster Alex Jones. As my colleague Nicole Lafond pointed out this week, Greene appeared on Jones’ show to spread a false story about Dominion voting machines “flipping” votes during early voting in her state. Raffensperger, however, pointed out in a segment for CBS’s “Face the Nation” that it was the voter who accidentally filled out the wrong selection on a ballot and that the issue was quickly resolved while the voter was still on-site. 

Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is also preparing for another election misinformation battle. In 2020, the state was ground zero for conspiracy theories, and, in turn, for dangerous threats against election officials across the state. Fontes is trying to get out ahead of any potential damage that could be done at the hands of election deniers this cycle. In an interview for POLITICO’S Tech podcast, Fontes said: “We are the center of the storm when it comes to election denialism.” 

He added: “Everybody’s just gotten a little more sophisticated, I guess, in this battle for the truth. But luckily, we’ve got the truth on our side, so those guys will lose eventually.”

And in Colorado state officials are educating voters on how to spot election misinformation and election intimidation ahead of time. Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold recently publicized information on a new Colorado law requiring political candidates to label content that is generated by AI, according to reporting from the Durango Herald. 

But, for months now, well before the almost two-week lead up to Election Day, election officials have been preparing to prevent threats to election workers motivated by baseless conspiracy theories about the election system. Election offices have implemented mental health training, stronger partnerships for law enforcement, new security training, increased security measures around election facilities, and even, in some counties, the installation of panic buttons.

— Khaya Himmelman

… While Law Enforcement Braces For Potential Violence

Federal and local law enforcement and other officials in Washington, D.C., are ramping up preparations to ensure a safe and peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2025, and on Inauguration Day.

Although officials said there are no specific threats to the city at this time, they are planning ahead, including for problems that may grow out of the misinformation and disinformation that will flood social media about the outcome and the security of the election.

Officials, this week, announced that fencing will be erected around the U.S. Capitol building from Jan. 5 through Jan. 21 for security purposes.

“I think that the United States Capitol Police are prepared to ensure a peaceful transfer of power at the Capitol, regardless of the victor,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

This election has already seen some violent incidents.

Earlier this week, police arrested a 60-year-old man suspected of shooting at a Tempe, Arizona Democratic National Convention office that organizes and campaigns for Vice President Kamala Harris as well as state House and Senate candidates.

The suspect, identified as Jeffrey Michael Kelly, was arrested late Tuesday and charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm, shooting at a nonresidential structure, committing an act of terrorism and misdemeanor criminal damage.

The arrest comes after local police responded to shots fired at the DNC office on three separate occasions over the course of three weeks. Kelly is also suspected of hanging suspicious bags of white powder from political signs in a nearby village.

When arrested, Kelly was found with over 120 guns and over 250,000 rounds of ammunition in his home, prosecutors said.

“The state and law enforcement believes that this person was preparing to commit an act of mass casualty with the guns he had,” Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Neha Bhatia said at Kelly’s initial appearance in Superior Court.

Bhatia detailed that investigators found multiple machine guns, loaded firearms, silencers, long-range scopes and body armor in his home.

In light of the events, Tempe Police Chief Kenneth McCoy acknowledged the threat of political violence is heightened with the 2024 election just around the corner.

“I want to speak directly to those who would consider using political violence or intimidation to disrupt our upcoming election: We will hold you accountable and use every resource available to us to bring you to justice,” McCoy said.

— Emine Yücel

Words of Wisdom

“No … Look, we’ve heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump. It’s kind of par for the course. Unfortunately, with a guy like that, it’s kinda baked into the vote.”

That’s New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) answering a question from CNN about whether Trump praising Hitler is making him reconsider his support for the former president.

It’s quite a rationalization for continuing to support a man who was described as an “an authoritarian” and someone who fits the “general definition of fascist” by his own chief of staff.

On top of that, the dismissal and downplaying from Sununu — who was so reluctant to support Trump in the first place — is a striking political performance that reveals the current state of the Republican Party.

If someone praising Hitler isn’t making you reconsider your support for them, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself. And maybe ask yourself, what does that say about me?

— Emine Yücel