Elon Musk allocated more than $20 million to a political action committee supporting Trump that utilized the name and likeness of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, based on recent disclosures.
The total of $20.5 million contributed by the ‘RBG PAC’ was transferred from the Elon Musk Revocable Trust on October 24, according to recent disclosures from the Federal Elections Commission. This sum is part of the $250 million Musk has invested overall to support Trump’s bid for the 2024 election.
The committee directed a portion of the $20.5 million towards advertisements aimed at separating the president-elect from abortion restrictions enacted in Republican-led states following a Supreme Court ruling, with three justices appointed by Trump, that reversed the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022.
These advertisements, still viewable on the organization’s website, showcase female speakers lauding Trump’s previous economic management and reiterating his statements regarding a federal ban on abortion. Although Ginsburg herself is not featured in the ads, her portrait is prominently displayed alongside the president-elect on the PAC’s website.
The website asserts that Ginsburg concurred with Trump on the reversal of Roe v. Wade, referencing her prior criticisms of the ruling. Nevertheless, her objections to the landmark case were mainly focused on its structure rather than its impact of safeguarding the right to abortion across the country, according to the same New York Times piece cited by the PAC.
Ginsburg’s family expressed outrage at the connection made between the liberal justice, renowned as a defender of women’s rights, and the conservative president-elect.
“The RBG PAC is unrelated to the Ginsburg family and disrespects my late grandmother’s legacy,” exclaimed Ginsburg’s granddaughter Clara Spera to The New York Times when the advertisements commenced airing. “The appropriation of her name and image to bolster Donald Trump’s re-election effort, particularly to imply that she would endorse his stance on abortion, is utterly reprehensible.”
