President Donald Trump has said he would be prepared to issue preemptive pardons to Elon Musk and other aides if Democrats win control of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections and then pursue investigations against them.
The president made the remarks in an interview on the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast, hosted by columnist Miranda Devine, which aired on Monday, 2 November. Asked about talk among Democrats of arresting Musk, seizing his assets and even nationalising his rocket company SpaceX, Trump dismissed the prospect as “talk” — but said he would act to shield his allies if it came to it.
“It’s talk, but if it is talk, we’ll have to protect them,” he said. Asked directly whether that protection could take the form of preemptive pardons, he pointed to the pardons issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden, in his final days in office. “That’s what Biden did. He gave everybody a pardon,” Trump said. “I would if I needed to, sure. I wouldn’t even think about it. I did it for J6.”
The reference was to the roughly 1,500 people charged over the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol whom Trump pardoned at the start of his second term. Biden, before leaving office in 2025, had issued preemptive pardons to figures including former General Mark Milley, Dr Anthony Fauci, members of the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack, and members of his own family.
Democrats have signalled that, if they retake the House, they could investigate Musk’s tenure leading the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting drive that reshaped parts of the federal government, as well as his companies’ lucrative federal contracts and his role in restricting Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite internet service operated by SpaceX. Devine also raised the case of Edward Coristine, a young programmer who worked in the department before resigning in June 2025.
Musk, the world’s richest man, spent nearly $290 million supporting Trump’s 2024 election campaign and has poured a further $474 million into backing Republicans in the 2026 midterms, according to the New York Times, including $212 million in support of Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee in Texas.
Trump has used his pardon power extensively in his second term, granting clemency to more than 1,700 people, the large majority of them charged over the Capitol attack, alongside dozens of business figures convicted of white-collar offences. A presidential pardon covers federal offences only: it cannot block state charges or civil lawsuits, and no investigation of Musk has been announced and no charges are pending against him or his aides.
In the same interview, Trump also promised to veto Democratic legislation if his party loses Congress, telling Devine: “I’ll become Mr. Veto.”
Sources: USA Today, “Trump says he would issue pardons to Elon Musk, aides if necessary” (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/11/02/trump-floats-pardons-elon-musk-aides/92561426007/); People, “Trump Says He’ll Issue Preemptive Pardons for His Staff and Allies If Democrats Take Control of Congress in 2026 Midterms” (https://people.com/trump-says-he-s-prepared-to-issue-preemptive-pardons-for-his-staff-and-allies-12206933).
