![Reaching out. Christopher Lesh, student at Central Catholic High School, serves ice cream during the event on March 2, 2025, at the Portland waterfront. Central Catholic was just one of the schools that sent student volunteers out to cook, prepare, dish, and serve food. Interact club’s co-president Rachel Gerber, junior, plated the food during the event. “I like how direct the contact is,” Gerber said. “You’re there [and] you’re just doing something good. It’s simple, it’s easy, you can feel good about it.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/interact-1-edited-1200x744.jpg)
![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
Since Donald Trump began campaigning, he has been backed by large donations and celebrities. One man in particular, Elon Musk, has been a vocal supporter of the campaign.
Musk has co-founded or bought large companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), Neuralink, and the Boring Company. His net worth totals to $194 billion. When Musk purchased Twitter in 2022, Trump had been banned from the social media site. When he acquired Twitter, he renamed it “X” and unbanned Trump’s account.
Fast forward to 2024, when Trump began his campaign for his second term in office. He had done rallies and speeches over the U.S., but one on July 13 had an attempt on his life. This was the day that a man by the name of Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old, tried to assassinate him.
When Crooks fired at Trump, the bullet grazed Trump’s ear and injured him. After news companies shared the assassination story, Musk took to X to share his thoughts.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote.
Over the next few months, Musk attended Trump rallies and financially supported the campaign. In total, Musk has donated $277 million to Trump’s cause.
During the election, Trump and Musk were in Mar-A-Lago, a resort owned by Trump. On election night, Musk posted a photo of him and Trump talking, captioned with “The future is gonna be so [fire emoji].”
On Jan 20, Musk gave a speech during Trump’s inauguration. He discussed how grateful he was that Trump was elected and to those who voted for him.
This was also the night he made a gesture which looked similar to Adolf Hitler’s Sieg Heil salute, commonly referred to as a Nazi salute. After receiving backlash on his social media, he took to social media once again to respond.
“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Musk wrote.
A project of his is the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to help cut federal spending and save money. Musk’s place in the government may determine the U.S. government’s decisions in the next three years. Whichever decisions by law or other form, Musk will have a hold in every state such as Oregon and its government.
