Elon Musk Cosigns Quest for Trump to Pardon the Officer Who Killed George Floyd

Elon Musk cosigned conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro's quest for President Donald Trump to pardon Derek Chauvin, the Minnesota cop who pleaded guilty on federal charges for killing George Floyd in 2020.

In a clip from "The Ben Shapiro Show" circulating on X, the host stated Trump should consider a federal pardon for Chauvin, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for violating Floyd's civil rights, to "reverse the evils of the last several years in American life."

He added that Floyd's death set off the Black Lives Matter riots, which "set America's race relations on their worst footing in my lifetime" and caused $2 billion in property damage across the nation, which Axios asserted in 2020.

Musk reposted the clip, writing, "Something to think about."

Further along the 3-minute clip, Shapiro falsely claimed Floyd died from fentanyl and a pre-existing heart condition and not Chauvin's knee, which Shapiro stated was on his shoulder or back, not his neck.

Shapiro's assertions were disproven in court. The Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker testified at the Chauvin's 2021 trial that Floyd died from "cardiopulmonary arrest," which occurred during "law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression," CNN reported. Baker reiterated it was Chauvin's knee that caused the subdual and neck restraint that killed Floyd.

The 41-year-old commentator then appealed to viewers' emotions and blamed the media for Chauvin's prosecution.

"I think it is worthwhile to remember that there is a man who is rotting in prison because the media decided in the middle of 2020 that they were going to turn a tragic law enforcement stop that ended with the death of a man that had a significant problem with drugs and pre-existing health problems into the raison d'être of the entire 2020 election," Shapiro added, before noting it also led to "the destruction of racial comedy in the United States."

Viewers were then directed to www.pardonderek.com to sign an online petition addressed to Trump.