A real endorsement, or just a troll from the Tweeter in Chief? This looks like the real thing, even if Elon Musk bookended it between trolling masturbation tweets targeting Paul Krugman and a look back at homing pigeons.

(What in the … ? Forget it, Jake … it’s Twittertown.)

Dropped right in the middle of that, however, was this clear call to vote for GOP candidates in 2022, specifically urging independents to go Republican to check “the worst excesses” of the Biden administration and Democratic Congress:

Hardcore Democrats or Republicans never vote for the other side, so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who’s in charge!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022

So far, the ratio seems to be holding up well — 23,000 comments to 109,000 likes and growing. Of course, being the owner of the platform has its benefits too, but clearly there seems to be quite a bit of enthusiasm for this position … even on Twitter, which still has yet to change any moderation policies that have hampered conservative engagement.

Elon’s latest tweet as I write this may have been directed at Krugman, but it applies here as well:

What do you call someone who is a master at baiting?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022

At the very least, it’s a clear sign of change at the platform and perhaps on the horizon for conservatives as well. What odds would have been placed for such an endorsement from founder Jack Dorsey? Let’s be generous and call them slim. The odds wouldn’t have existed at all for Parag Agrawal and his clique of progressive censors, who all just got their walking papers last week.

A better question may be this: how many voters will this influence? In today’s environment, one has to wonder whether social media acts as an influence or merely a validation device. It could, however, make voting Republican a bit more socially acceptable to those worried about social-media Overton windows, if not a bit cooler as well. It sure beats having Musk endorse Democrats, but you can bet that mainstream media outlets will add this to their “democracy is in peril” and “Twitter is a danger to public debate” narratives. Stay tuned.