Elon Musk and Bill Ackman express their support for Trump after the attack

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, along with other business leaders, have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express their support for former President Donald Trump following his assassination attempt on Saturday. William Cohan, founding partner of Puck News, joins Catalysts to discuss the political implications of the corporate world’s support measures following last weekend’s events.

Cohan suggests that this public display of support was likely a strategic move by the CEOs that allowed them to “declare their support for Trump without being attacked on social media.” He notes that this “unfortunate incident” gave them “cover” to express their support.

On the election prospects, Cohan says: “Right now, I think the combination of Biden’s poor performance in the debate, his subsequent attempts to correct that, and that horrific incident over the weekend … most people seem to have resigned themselves at this point to the fact that Trump is going to win. There will be a second Trump administration, and unfortunately there’s not much Biden can do about it.”

Click here to watch the full episode of Catalysts for more expert insights and information on current market events.

This article was written by Angel Smith

Video transcript

We continue to monitor all reactions to the assassination attempt on former President Trump this weekend.

Just hours after this incident, Elon Musk and Bill Ackman declared their support for the former president on X.

Apart from the condemnation of the violence by the leadership, reactions were otherwise rather muted.

For discussion we have William Cohen Puck News, founding partner William, here.

It’s great to have you here.

This appears to be a muted response from leaders who continue to insist on condemning local violence.

But I’m curious: Do you think that those who have come forward and confirmed their support for the Trump campaign were, in your view, just waiting for the right moment to be able to speak openly about their support for Trump?

And that was somehow always predictable for Musk and a guy like Ackman.

Um, I think as far as those two are concerned, both Ackman and Musk, um, they were probably looking for a way to, um, declare their support for Trump, um, without being attacked on social media for it.

And I think this unfortunate incident – we continue to be in an epidemic of gun violence that seems to have no end – has given them the cover that they were probably looking for.

Yes.

Well, I want to talk about what to expect throughout the week as Trump heads to the RNC.

The story goes on

Do you think the events of the weekend will influence his choice of vice president in any way?

Um, iii, I don’t think it will have any impact on the vice presidential election.

I mean, uh, I think right now, it’s the combination of, you know, Biden’s uh poor debate performance, his subsequent attempts to correct that and then that horrific incident over the weekend.

I think most people seem to be doing that now, even though the election is still four months away.

I think most people have now come to terms with the fact that Trump will win.

There will be a second Trump administration and unfortunately Biden can’t do much about it.

Although, again, there is still a lot of time, a lot can happen, but I think the combination of these two factors is now leading to a resignation among many Democrats.

Uh, most people on Wall Street are actually Democrats and would prefer not to see a second Trump administration. My assessment of the situation is that there’s nothing that can be done.

So, Bill, why the resignation?

I mean, we had people over the weekend, for example, saying that if senior Democrats were going to accept a Trump presidency, they should retire themselves.

If you are in a position of power, why don’t you use that power and do something if you care about the future of the country?

No, I’m not talking about the people in Congress or high-ranking Democrats or people who talk to Biden.

I am only talking about ordinary Americans, ordinary Democrats, people who, as you know, had great hopes.

Uh, before the debate about whether Biden would be re-elected, I think the combination of those two things is kind of a one-two punch of unprecedented proportions, and I’m not sure many people are looking back, at least right now. There are still four months to go, but right now, I think there’s suddenly widespread resignation that Trump is going to return to office.

I mean, and you see this with people like Bill Ackman, who have supported the Democrats for the last year or the entire year, and now they’re suddenly vocally supporting Donald Trump.

Well, I mean, you know, I think this is going to happen more and more, unfortunately.

Uh, and it, uh, it’s just, I mean, not only is it still going to be close, but I think the electoral map seems to be shifting in Trump’s favor, and that’s where things get really serious.

Obviously you’ve spent a lot of your career on Wall Street, Bill.

I want to talk about the potential impact on the market.

What do you think is the biggest retail stock that investors should keep an eye on before November?

Is it Bitcoin?

Is it a deepening of the Treasury curve?

What do you think is the best safeguard against a possible return of Trump to the White House?

I think it’s Trump’s media and technology.

Look, the stock is up 33% today.

It is obviously a litmus test for Trump and his second administration.

What people think he will do.

I mean, if you had bought the stock on Thursday, uh, Friday, you would obviously be making a 33% gain today.

I mean, it seems to be a litmus test for Trump, unfortunately, and if you want to play the Trump Gambit, uh, that seems to be the best way to go.

I mean, I’m not a trader.

I don’t know how you would do it or what the best way to do it is, but it’s certainly one way to play it.

And he has said that the reason the stock market is at historic highs is because his prospects for re-election are getting better and better.

He obviously got a great court ruling today.

He is probably the happiest person on earth.

Uh, when you, uh, look at everything together, the guy has an incredible, uh, more lives than a cat.

Uh, I think at this point, uh, and if you want to play his return, uh, in the markets, his back is certainly a way to do that.