recounted his assassination attempt in vivid detail and promised the largest deportation in U.S. history during a high-profile return to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter B次元官网网址� a conversation that was plagued by technical glitches.
B次元官网网址淚f I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now B次元官网网址� as much as I like you,B次元官网网址� Trump told XB次元官网网址檚 owner .
Musk, a former Trump critic, said the Republican nomineeB次元官网网址檚 toughness, as demonstrated by his reaction to last monthB次元官网网址檚 shooting, was critical for national security.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 some real tough characters out there,B次元官网网址� Musk said. B次元官网网址淎nd if they donB次元官网网址檛 think the American president is tough, they will do what they want to do.B次元官网网址�
The rare public conversation between Trump and Musk, which spanned more than two hours Monday night and was overwhelmingly friendly, revealed little new about TrumpB次元官网网址檚 plans for a second term. The former president spent much of the discussion focused on his recent assassination attempt, illegal immigration and his plans to cut government regulations.
Still, the online meeting underscored just how much the U.S. political landscape has changed less than four years after Trump was permanently banned by the social media platformB次元官网网址檚 former leadership for spreading disinformation that sparked the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress and undermined the very foundation of the American democracy.
Such disinformation under MuskB次元官网网址檚 leadership, although it was largely ignored during his conversation with Trump save for a passing Trump reference to a B次元官网网址渞igged election.B次元官网网址�
The session was intended to serve as a way for the former president to reach potentially millions of voters directly. It was also an opportunity for X, a platform that relies heavily on politics, to redeem itself after some struggles.
It did not begin as planned.
With more than 878,000 users connected to the meeting more than 40 minutes after the scheduled start time, the interview had not yet begun. Many users received a message reading, B次元官网网址淒etails not available.B次元官网网址�
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 team posted that the B次元官网网址渋nterview on X is being overwhelmed with listeners logging in.B次元官网网址� And once the meeting began, Musk apologized for the late start and blamed a B次元官网网址渕assive attackB次元官网网址� that overwhelmed the companyB次元官网网址檚 system. TrumpB次元官网网址檚 voice sounded muffled at times.
Trump supporters were openly frustrated.
B次元官网网址淣ot available????? I planned my whole day around this,B次元官网网址� wrote conservative commentator Glenn Beck.
B次元官网网址淧lease let Elon know we canB次元官网网址檛 join,B次元官网网址� billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted.
Ahead of the event, Musk posted on the platform that X was conducting B次元官网网址渟ome system scaling testsB次元官网网址� to handle what was anticipated to be a high volume of participants.
The rocky start was reminiscent of a May 2023 social media conversation between Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Republican governor was using the social media platform as a way to officially announce his presidential bid, marred by technical glitches, overloaded by the more than 400,000 people who tried to dial in.
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, noted that Trump mocked DeSantis at the time.
B次元官网网址淲ow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!B次元官网网址� Trump wrote in a message reposted by HarrisB次元官网网址� campaign Monday.
Once the interview ended, HarrisB次元官网网址� campaign responded with a statement saying, B次元官网网址淭rumpB次元官网网址檚 entire campaign is in service of people like Elon Musk and himself B次元官网网址� self-obsessed rich guys who will sell out the middle class and who cannot run a livestream in the year 2024.B次元官网网址�
MondayB次元官网网址檚 meeting highlighted the evolving personal relationship between Trump and Musk, two of the worldB次元官网网址檚 most powerful men, who have shifted from being bitter rivals to unlikely allies over the span of one election season.
Musk, who described himself as a B次元官网网址渕oderate DemocratB次元官网网址� until recently, suggested in 2022 that Trump was too old to be president again. Still, Musk Trump two days after his assassination attempt last month.
During their talk, Trump welcomed the idea of Musk joining his next administration to help cut government waste. Musk volunteered to join a prospective B次元官网网址済overnment efficiency commission.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e the greatest cutter,B次元官网网址� Trump told Musk. B次元官网网址淚 need an Elon Musk B次元官网网址� I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts. I want to close up the Department of Education, move education back to the states.B次元官网网址�
Even before his endorsement, the tech CEO had already been working privately to support a pro-Trump super PAC. The group, known as America PAC, is now under investigation by election officials for alleged misleading attempts to collect data from voters.
Meanwhile, Trump has softened his criticism of electric vehicles, citing MuskB次元官网网址檚 leadership of Tesla. And on Monday, at least, Trump returned to MuskB次元官网网址檚 social media platform in force. The former president made at least eight individual posts in the hours leading up to the Musk interview.
Long before he endorsed Trump, Musk turned increasingly toward the right in his posts and actions on the platform, also using X to try to sway political discourse around the world. HeB次元官网网址檚 gotten in a over censorship, railed against what he calls the B次元官网网址渨oke mind virusB次元官网网址� and that Democrats are secretly flying in migrants to vote in U.S. elections.
Musk has also reinstated previously banned accounts such as the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Trump, who was B次元官网网址� then known as Twitter B次元官网网址� two days after the Jan. 6 violence, with the company citing B次元官网网址渢he risk of further incitement of violence.B次元官网网址� By November 2022, Musk had bought the company, and , although the former president refrained from tweeting until Monday, on his own Truth Social site, which he launched during the ban.
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 audience on X is legions larger than on Truth Social, which earlier this year. Trump has just over 7.5 million followers on Truth Social, while his mostly dormant X account is followed by 88 million. MuskB次元官网网址檚 account, which hosted the interview, has more than 193 million followers.
In a reminder that the world was watching, the chat prompted a preemptive note of caution from Europe.
Thierry Breton, a French business executive and commissioner for internal market of the European Union, warned Musk of possible B次元官网网址渁mplification of harmful contentB次元官网网址� by broadcasting his interview with Trump. In a letter posted on X, Breton urged Musk to B次元官网网址渆nsure XB次元官网网址檚 complianceB次元官网网址� with EU law, including the Digital Services Act, adopted in 2022 to address a number of issues including disinformation.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung urged the EU to B次元官网网址渕ind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the U.S. Presidential election.B次元官网网址�
