Trump vows to defend Musk, considers advance pardons for staff

US President Donald Trump has vowed to protect billionaire Elon Musk if Democrats investigate the SpaceX and Tesla chief after the midterm elections, Axios reports.

Trump spoke in an interview on the “Pod Force One” podcast, published on Monday. Host Miranda Devine had asked him about rumours that Musk could be investigated or have his assets seized.

“It’s talk. But if it is talk, we’ll have to protect them,” Trump said.

He also suggested he would consider pre-emptive pardons for his staff and other allies if Democrats pursued investigations against them, and said he would not hesitate to do so.

Musk has spent nearly half a billion dollars opposing Democrats this election cycle.

Trump’s comments come as polls increasingly point to strong Democratic gains in the midterms.

He said he would like to run for a third term but appeared to rule it out, adding that more than two years remained to carry out his agenda.