President Joe Biden called out Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, now a Republican megadonor and Trump campaign surrogate, for hypocrisy on immigration on Saturday, saying Musk launched his long career in the U.S. as an “illegal worker” before becoming the world’s wealthiest man.
The president made these remarks at a campaign event to support Democrats that took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Labeling Musk as former President Donald Trump’s wealthy new “ally,” Biden said, “That wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here when he was here,” referring to Musk.
“He was supposed to be in school when he came on a student visa. He wasn’t in school. He was violating the law. He’s talking about all these ‘illegals’ coming our way,” Biden added.
He then criticized Trump and Republicans for failing to sign legislation that would fix “the problem with the border.” He added, “We have fewer people crossing the border illegally now — or crossing the border period — than at any time since his third year as President of the United States.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Biden’s remarks.
Musk recently completed a series of “town hall” events in the same swing state of Pennsylvania, where he sought to convince voters to back Trump and Trump’s policies. Musk also stirred up his fan base there by doling out $1 million lottery-style prizes to registered voters in swing states who signed a petiti
