London He called the government of one American ally fascist and another leader an idiot. In addition to supporting calls for a new election and promoting a video from a far-right activist who is now in jail, Elon Musk has now called Britain a tyrant police state.
At a time when the United Kingdom is worried about its reputation with the incoming U.S. administration, Musk, the richest man in the world and a major advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, has been at odds with Prime Minister Keir Starmer for months.
The software mogul escalated his feud over the weekend, wondering why far-right leader Tommy Robinson had been imprisoned and insulting the new center-left leader of the United Kingdom over declining approval ratings.
Musk wrote on his X platform, “The people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state,” citing a post about an online petition that has amassed two million signatures in favor of another election.
With a landslide victory in July, Starmer’s Labour Party is exempt from having to hold another election for another five years. Low approval ratings, an immediate crisis, and, more recently, a large-scale protest by irate farmers have plagued his administration. The government has allegedly “gone back on the promises” it made during the election, according to the petition.
In August, Musk garnered condemnation from the United Kingdom when he claimed that the nation was on the brink of civil war after days of right-wing rioting and the deaths of three young girls in a knife assault at a dance party with a Taylor Swift theme.
However, Musk is positioned to lead a new government efficiency push and appears to have influence over global affairs, so his most recent attacks are more significant in the wake of Trump’s election triumph.
Musk keeps criticizing Starmer’s administration as it attempts to move past its own previous public remarks and mend fences with Trump.
The Trump campaign staff has been contacted by NBC News for comment.
In response to the farmers’ protests earlier in November, Musk criticized the United Kingdom for going “full Stalin” by raising inheritance taxes on farms valued at above $1.25 million. This was a reference to the Soviet Union’s disastrous farm collectivization efforts under Joseph Stalin.
Musk then shared a graph illustrating Starmer’s deteriorating approval ratings on Saturday.
Known for starting online arguments and retweeting far-right postings, Musk also shared a post on Saturday by Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League, an anti-immigrant group and a jailed far-right activist.
Robinson admitted to contempt of court by making false accusations against a Syrian immigrant and is currently serving an 18-month jail sentence.
Why is he serving an 18-month prison sentence? Musk shared.
Since taking over as CEO, Musk has a history of elevating far-right voices on X, allowing conspiracy theorists and extremists to reappear on the social media network and sharing their posts.
According to Politico, when asked about Musk’s remarks on Monday, a Starmer representative stated that the prime minister was eager to collaborate with Trump and “his whole team, including Elon Musk, to develop the special U.K.-U.S. relationship.”
Starmer’s office has been contacted by NBC News for additional comment.
In recent weeks, Musk has publicly attacked several U.S. allies, including Britain.
He has previously branded the Australian government fascists for its intentions to combat internet disinformation and has opposed the country’s proposed ban on social media for youngsters under the age of sixteen. He referred to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a “fool” earlier this month following the collapse of his government coalition.
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