Gov. Sununu Claims Elon Musk is Too Rich to Have Conflict of Interest Between Business and Vast Influence Over Trump Administration

Republican New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu argued Sunday that Elon Musk is too wealthy to have a conflict of interest regarding his businesses and his influence over the incoming Trump administration.

Sununu argued that not only does Musk not care about adding to his net worth but that his goals regarding advising President-elect Donald Trump are about more than money.

On CNN’s State of the Union, anchor Dana Bash asked the governor about Trump’s first-term spending and whether he might be more frugal in his second term.

During his response, Sununu discussed Musk’s government contracts with SpaceX and Tesla and whether he might have a conflict of interest as one of Trump’s key advisers. The New Hampshire Republican praised Musk as a wealthy “outsider” and the kind of person he was glad to see with an interest in government.

Bash responded, “He’s not that much of an outsider. In fact, one of the criticisms and the concerns is that he has billions of dollars tied up in government contracts. You don’t see a conflict of interest here?”

Sununu replied:

The guy’s worth 450 billion as of today in this month. So I don’t think he’s doing it for the money. He’s doing it for the bigger project and the bigger vision of America. He doesn’t need the dollars. He really doesn’t. So it’s not about, if I get involved in this, I’ll get another little contract here or there. That’s. That’s nothing to him. So I like the fact that he in a way, he’s so rich, he’s so removed from the potential financial influence of it.

Tesla survived in its early days under Musk’s leadership thanks in large part to a lifeline from the federal government. SpaceX has gotten off the ground due to Musk’s ability to secure government contracts worth more than $20 billion for the company.

Watch above via CNN.