By landing its rocket launcher, SpaceX achieved a technological feat last Sunday, hailed around the world. “It’s a pure American success”explains Christophe Maillot, author of JFK and the race to the Moon – Launch of an American adventure. Despite this blatant proof of American domination in the space domain, the Biden administration did not congratulate SpaceX and its boss, Elon Musk.
It must be said that the latter is also a fervent supporter of Donald Trump. Conversely, it is the former president and current Republican candidate who took over this success, trying to reflect it on his campaign.
“Did you see how the launcher landed?” (…) I’ve never seen anything like it…it was a beautiful, white, shiny thing. My friend did this and I want my friends to succeed! “, Trump exclaimed Sunday to a cheering crowd in Arizona, before recounting his discussions with Musk about rocket engines.
In the wake of these statements, posts relating to SpaceX’s exploit have not stopped in Republican circles on social networks. The previous week, former President Donald Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, where he had escaped an assassination attempt in July, with an electrified Elon Musk on stage for his speech. The name of the SpaceX boss is now in the candidate’s mouth in every interview, with the latter notably reaffirming his ambition to send a mission to Mars with the help of Musk.
Trump plays on space fiber
“Trump already had a history of attacking Harris over her lack of enthusiasm for the space program. By creating the Space Force in 2016, by launching the Artemis mission in 2017, he can boast of a real record on the subject”explains Malcolm Biiga, consultant. By riding on the conquest of space and the success of SpaceX, the Republican candidate is playing the American pride card.
“Since 1969 and the sending of the first man to the Moon, the Americans have turned away from the subject, especially since the conquest of space is expensive”underlines Christophe Maillot.
But the project to go to Mars – supported by Trump – rekindles American desire to the point that 7 out of 10 Americans believe that it is essential for the United States to remain the world leader in space exploration. “By having the support of Elon Musk, Donald Trump embodies this role of conqueror of the new frontier. It revives the Americans’ need for adventure, which they experienced through the conquest of the West and the conquest of space. explains Romuald Sciora.
Opposite, the Democratic candidate does not venture into the space theme, despite the attacks made on this subject by Elon Musk.
“The election of Kamala Harris would destroy NASA’s Mars program and doom humanity (…), it would be a bifurcation of human destiny” declared the boss of SpaceX at the end of September.
However, the current vice-president would have good arguments to put forward, even obtaining the support of Bill Nelson, administrator of NASA, who declared on July 30: “I think she’s a space enthusiast. » Kamala Harris was, in fact, president of the National Space Council, within which she defended the return of astronauts to the Moon and the construction of a lunar base.
Musk or the American dream incarnate
Could Musk’s latest success rub off on Donald Trump’s campaign? ? “I don’t think so,” puts Ludivine Gilli, director of the North America Observatory at the Jean Jaurès Foundation, into perspective.
Elon Musk, Donald Trump’s X factor?
According to her, the successful landing of the SpaceX launcher “will perhaps only play a role at the margins. In fact, it is rather the figure of Elon Musk as such who can play a little more. Being with a billionaire conveys an image of success. It can appeal to certain ethnic minorities. But we must not forget that Musk remains a divisive person, including among Americans. His popularity across the population overlaps very well with the divide between Harris and Trump supporters. »
While, in the polls, the two candidates are in a tight spot 3 weeks before the election, Romuald Sciora believes that “the election can be decided by a few thousand votes in certain states. Riding on the success of SpaceX can therefore help to swing the vote, after all. Especially since Musk’s personality, despite its divisive side, is an asset for Trump. He embodies the American dream and speaks much more to all voters than Taylor Swift, for example. »
The ambiguity of support
Nevertheless, the presence of Elon Musk in the Republican camp questions and even tends to modify Trump’s program. The Tesla boss’s rallying to the Grand Old Party has thus influenced Donald Trump’s outings against electric cars in recent weeks. The Republican candidate even ended up declaring on August 3: “I’m for electric cars, I have to be because Elon has strongly supported me. »
Elon Musk on track to become world’s first ‘trillionaire’ by 2027
But for Romuald Sciora, it is also Elon Musk’s place among the MAGA (Make America Great Again), – and even recently Dark Maga – which surprises. “As you can see, I’m not just MAGA, I’m Dark MAGA,” Musk said at the Butler meeting. A surprising statement as Dark Maga, this online community supporting Donald Trump, advocates authoritarianism, revenge and even violence.
They are also for the return of a strong and powerful American state, a position out of step with the “Musk’s post-national character. The latter wishes to go beyond the idea of Nation. It already fulfills, through private companies, the tasks that the State should fulfill, particularly in the space sector. The MAGAs embody the fear of the decay of the Nation-State system. So it’s the exact opposite.”
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