Dark MAGA coin spikes after Elon Musk, Trump rally speech

Elon Musk’s appearance at a Donald Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday inspired a massive rally in Dark MAGA meme money after the X.com owner told attendees the election was a “must-win situation.”

Wearing a black “Make America Great Again” hat, Musk told the crowd, “As you can see, I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark MAGA.”

The Dark MAGA (DMAGA) meme coin then surged over 316% since then.

Courtesy of CoinGecko

The rally was Trump’s first in Butler since surviving an assassination attempt in July. Shortly after the shooting, Musk supported Trump, citing his reaction to the attack.

At the time, President Joe Biden was still running for re-election. On July 21, he withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

What is Dark MAGA?

Dark MAGA is just one of a number of flipping tokens that have emerged in recent years that appear to be inspired by Trump, who was once a crypto skeptic but is now an ardent supporter of the sector.

It takes its name from a series of “Dark MAGA” memes created in 2024 that depict Republican candidate Trump as a vengeful, authoritarian figure, often with a laser eye. It was a riff on the “Dark Brandon” meme, which emerged as a satirical pro-Biden backlash that often depicted the president with red laser eyes.

And “Dark Brandon” is a riff on “Let’s go, Brandon!” – A conservative euphemism used by Trump supporters when criticizing Biden. “Let’s go, Brandon!” The meme was ironically adopted by Biden supporters, subverting its original satirical intent by choosing “Dark Brandon” as a symbol of Biden’s accomplishments.

But Musk’s embrace of Dark MAGA appeared serious.

‘Dark MAGA’: The absolute desperation in Elon Musk’s voice can be felt. He knows his chances of getting millions of dollars in tax cuts are dwindling. For anyone who thinks the greed-driven billionaire isn’t entirely beholden to the Trump dictatorship, listen up. pic.twitter.com/vM9kNNVIrj

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) October 5, 2024

Musk flipped the script

When Trump brought Musk onto the stage, the Tesla CEO jumped into the air several times as supporters cheered.

Musk urged those attending the meeting to vote and warned in his speech that if Trump does not win in November, “this will be the last election.”

Musk was seemingly flipping the script on Trump’s critics; these critics often cited examples of Trump’s autocratic tendencies to raise concerns about the future of American democracy under his influence.

In addition to attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, Trump has pressured state officials such as the Georgia Secretary of State to “find” enough votes to declare him the winner. The twice-impeached former president also expresses admiration for authoritarian figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Musk and Trump’s friendship

Dark MAGA is not the first satirical cryptocurrency inspired by the Musk/Trump alliance. Recall how the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) money soared after Musk tweeted his desire to lead a government efficiency commission if Trump was re-elected.

Since then, the value of meme money has fallen off a cliff.

Courtesy of CoinGecko

Meanwhile, political polls show a tight race between Harris and Trump.

As of Friday evening, Harris led Trump by 3.4 points in the national average determined by The Hill/Decision Desk HQ.

Both candidates attracted the attention of billionaires. In addition to Musk, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, the Winklevoss twins and casino mogul Steve Wynn also supported Trump’s re-election.

Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs; LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman; Illinois Governor JB Pritzker; and Mark Cuban, minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, support Harris.