John Fetterman says Elon Musk moved the needle for Trump in PA

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) pointed to Elon Musk's run in Pennsylvania as moving the needle for Trump in the state.

Transcript via CNN.

Tapper: Right before the election, you predicted on this show that the results would be close, but Kamala Harris and the Democrats will eventually carry Pennsylvania. They, it obviously didn't happen.

You won Pennsylvania by appealing not only to people in urban centers like Philly or Pittsburgh, but also by appealing to blue-collar workers in red counties who voted for Trump. this time. The Democratic Party is still the party of the working class.

FETERMAN: Well, of course.

But I've described the situation, and now I've already argued that it's going to be incredibly close. And I've also argued that Trump is the strongest he's been in the three terms there. And now some really unique things have happened, the assassination attempt that happened in Butler. That's 45 minutes from where we're sitting now, and then Musk. Musk isn't just your typical surrogate type. We are all in that situation. We're all in it. We have surrogates. We have approval. And most of them are often not very important, but now Musk has really activated himself and he has been described as moving to Pennsylvania.

And I believe that helped move the needle on that as well. So Trump came in with the strongest position and he carried Pennsylvania and he carried all the swing states. That's what, that's what's reflected, that he's in a strong position, that – there's going to be a lot of hot moves. Before these elections, there were many hot statements.

Musk's illegal lottery and misinformation ads in Pennsylvania definitely had some effect. It's doubtful they got Trump voters to the polls, but they certainly could have depressed Democratic turnout in key parts of the state. Elon Musk was not the reason Trump won Pennsylvania. Lack of Democratic turnout was the reason Trump won Pennsylvania, but according to Sen. Fetterman, Musk was a factor in Pennsylvania.

Jason is the managing editor. She is also the White House Press Center and Congressional Correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a BA in Political Science. Her graduate work focused on public policy, specializing in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association