Nearly all of the opinions held by the wealthiest and probably most powerful man in the world at the time were in agreement.
In an attempt to impede the ascent of Democratic contender Kamala Harris, tech magnate Elon Musk opened up his X platform on Monday night, providing Donald Trump with a conduit devoid of fact checks for his assertions, conspiracies, and extremism.
The conversation marked the beginning of yet another incredible chapter in a presidential campaign that has defied logic in recent weeks with its startling turns, such as President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of his reelection campaign and an attempt on Trump’s life.
The former president has been in disarray, unable to handle the new Democratic nominee’s explosive start. During their lengthy conversation, Musk seemed to be giving Trump advice on how to strengthen his case against Harris at points by using the influence of his platform and reputation.
At one point, Trump remarked of a Democratic opponent who had erased his lead in the polls in only three weeks as a candidate, “She’s a believer in being radical left.” Furthermore, the ex-president, who made an effort to rig an election in which he lost, falsely said that Biden had been forcibly removed from office in order to make room for Harris. Say what you will about this swindle, this was a coup, but she hasn’t done an interview since it all began. “This was a presidential coup for the United States,” a furious Trump said.
Musk flatteringly implied that he was powerful and his Democratic opponents were weak, agreeing with Trump that Harris was a radical lefty. “Do they fear the American president, or is it someone they do not respect and do not fear?” he said, referring to America’s foes. Let’s examine the assassination video. Let me just say that President Trump is saying, “Don’t mess with me.”
Musk has previously given Trump his support, and on Monday night, he made it clear that he wanted Trump to be elected to a second term. “The road to wealth is ahead of you. He said to Trump, “And I believe Kamala to be the reverse.
At the lowest point in the Republican contender’s campaign so far, Musk—who has enormous commercial stakes in gaining favourable treatment from the next administration—offered the nominee an audience of at least 1.3 million listeners simultaneously. Furthermore, he estimated that in the next days, the information will be seen by at least 100 million people.
Trump and Musk stood to earn a great deal.
Trump, who has been criticising Biden for months due to his age, stammer, and difficulty finishing sentences, at times seemed to be slurring or lisping his words throughout the event. It was unclear whether there was a problem with the audio. “Must be your hearing,” ex-president Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesperson, said when asked for an explanation.
The former president and the tycoon’s friendly chat revealed what each guy stood to earn as well.
A potential future president with a reputation for transactional leadership was impressed by Musk’s ideas on immigration, the economy, reducing government regulation, and tax reduction. Changes in governmental regulations may have an effect on Musk’s businesses, which include Tesla, an electric car manufacturer, and SpaceX, a major participant in the US space program. There were several possible conflicts of interest during the whole talk. An chance like this to speak with a potential future president would never come around for the average American.
Musk even made the offer to work for the US government at one time, maybe as a member of an efficiency committee meant to reduce the size of the administrative state. Noting that Musk is a fantastic “cutter,” Trump said he would “love it” if the multibillionaire got involved.
Trump benefited much from devoting almost two hours of his time to this endeavour. Musk refrained from confronting him with any of his fabrications and misrepresentations, including his assertion that, in the event of his defeat in November, 60 million illegal migrants will flood the United States.
In the speech, Musk defended his innovative electric car business while downplaying the danger posed by global warming. In the meanwhile, Trump issued a warning over the threat presented by “nuclear warming,” claiming that it was more dangerous than “global warming.” Uncertainty surrounded his intended allusion, which Musk said was “not as scary as people think,” to nuclear power.
The interaction served as a potent illustration of how social media and the fragmentation of conventional journalism have changed presidential politics. Given that Twitter was at its peak in 2016 and Trump’s rise to political prominence at that time, it’s possible that he would not have been president otherwise. The presidential election of that year was a singular fusion of a man and his time thanks to his ability to take use of the new media like no other candidate.
After eight years, X has taken down many of the barriers that prevented the spread of false information and conspiracy theories on the website, all under the direction of Musk, the proponent of unrestricted free speech. Therefore, it’s the ideal platform for the former president to break free from the confines of mainstream media and spread his vastly popular alternate world among his millions of fans.
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Republicans are taking issue with what they perceive to be favourable media coverage of Harris’s early campaign. However, very few contenders have experienced what the Republican nominee did on X on Monday night.
Thierry Breton, a European commissioner, wrote to Musk alerting him to the global political issues brought up by the development of X and cautioning him against allowing the “amplification of harmful content” to be accessible by customers inside the EU.
In a comment that seemed to bode ill for the already strained ties between the Trump camp and Musk and Europe, Cheung cautioned on X that the EU should “mind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the US Presidential election.”
Following years of abstaining from Twitter and X, Trump showered Musk with adulation.
On Monday night, Trump spread a litany of lies and hyperboles, including about the number of people who crossed the border, the severity of the inflation crisis that has since subsided, his legal issues, the energy policy of the current administration, and his well-known accusation that foreign countries were dumping their prisoners across the southern US border.
Many of Trump’s supporters would undoubtedly agree with much that the former president stated when they hear excerpts of the chat in the days to come, underscoring his political viability even after Harris changed the race.
There were times when Trump’s case for a second term was clearer and more concentrated than it has been in recent days, when he seemed unnerved by the turn of events in a campaign he thought he was sure to win over Biden. Along with Musk, he accused the president and vice president of implementing spending plans that contributed to the inflation that millions of Americans have had to endure.
However, Trump’s repeated digressions and exaggeration of conspiracy theories also showed why he is despised by many people and raised concerns about his appeal to suburban and female voters in crucial regions.
Early on, due to technological difficulties, it seemed like the meeting might serve as a new allegory for Trump’s gaffes. Musk said that the assault was caused by a distributed denial-of-service attempt, but it was not immediately feasible to identify the perpetrators. Musk said, “There is a lot of resistance to people just listening to what President Trump has to say.”
The Harris team was quick to react, sharing a Trump Truth Social post from the previous year in which they chastised Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his rough primary campaign debut at an unreliable Twitter Spaces gathering with Elon Musk.
The occasion marked Trump’s comeback to X, previously known as Twitter, from which the site’s previous owners had banned him after his mob’s attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Musk had reinstated his account.
More information about Musk’s changing political beliefs and his increasing propensity to use his riches and influence to further them would have been revealed to anybody who listened to the whole two-hour discussion than anything new about Trump. But in a moment of political necessity, the former president was ecstatically appreciative of a new buddy.
“You’re a great man, and you did a fantastic job. Trump replied, “You are a great inspiration to people,” before bidding adieu.
