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 含羞草研究社� a conversation that was plagued by technical glitches.
含羞草研究社淚f I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now 含羞草研究社� as much as I like you,含羞草研究社� Trump told X含羞草研究社檚 owner .
Musk, a former Trump critic, said the Republican nominee含羞草研究社檚 toughness, as demonstrated by his reaction to last month含羞草研究社檚 shooting, was critical for national security.
含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檚 some real tough characters out there,含羞草研究社� Musk said. 含羞草研究社淎nd if they don含羞草研究社檛 think the American president is tough, they will do what they want to do.含羞草研究社�
The rare public conversation between Trump and Musk, which spanned more than two hours Monday night and was overwhelmingly friendly, revealed little new about Trump含羞草研究社檚 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 platform含羞草研究社檚 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 Musk含羞草研究社檚 leadership, although it was largely ignored during his conversation with Trump save for a passing Trump reference to a 含羞草研究社渞igged election.含羞草研究社�
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, 含羞草研究社淒etails not available.含羞草研究社�
Trump含羞草研究社檚 team posted that the 含羞草研究社渋nterview on X is being overwhelmed with listeners logging in.含羞草研究社� And once the meeting began, Musk apologized for the late start and blamed a 含羞草研究社渕assive attack含羞草研究社� that overwhelmed the company含羞草研究社檚 system. Trump含羞草研究社檚 voice sounded muffled at times.
Trump supporters were openly frustrated.
含羞草研究社淣ot available????? I planned my whole day around this,含羞草研究社� wrote conservative commentator Glenn Beck.
含羞草研究社淧lease let Elon know we can含羞草研究社檛 join,含羞草研究社� billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted.
Ahead of the event, Musk posted on the platform that X was conducting 含羞草研究社渟ome system scaling tests含羞草研究社� 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.
Trump含羞草研究社檚 Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, noted that Trump mocked DeSantis at the time.
含羞草研究社淲ow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!含羞草研究社� Trump wrote in a message reposted by Harris含羞草研究社� campaign Monday.
Once the interview ended, Harris含羞草研究社� campaign responded with a statement saying, 含羞草研究社淭rump含羞草研究社檚 entire campaign is in service of people like Elon Musk and himself 含羞草研究社� self-obsessed rich guys who will sell out the middle class and who cannot run a livestream in the year 2024.含羞草研究社�
Monday含羞草研究社檚 meeting highlighted the evolving personal relationship between Trump and Musk, two of the world含羞草研究社檚 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 含羞草研究社渕oderate Democrat含羞草研究社� 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 含羞草研究社済overnment efficiency commission.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淵ou含羞草研究社檙e the greatest cutter,含羞草研究社� Trump told Musk. 含羞草研究社淚 need an Elon Musk 含羞草研究社� 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.含羞草研究社�
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 Musk含羞草研究社檚 leadership of Tesla. And on Monday, at least, Trump returned to Musk含羞草研究社檚 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. He含羞草研究社檚 gotten in a over censorship, railed against what he calls the 含羞草研究社渨oke mind virus含羞草研究社� 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 含羞草研究社� then known as Twitter 含羞草研究社� two days after the Jan. 6 violence, with the company citing 含羞草研究社渢he risk of further incitement of violence.含羞草研究社� 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.
Trump含羞草研究社檚 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. Musk含羞草研究社檚 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 含羞草研究社渁mplification of harmful content含羞草研究社� by broadcasting his interview with Trump. In a letter posted on X, Breton urged Musk to 含羞草研究社渆nsure X含羞草研究社檚 compliance含羞草研究社� 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 含羞草研究社渕ind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the U.S. Presidential election.含羞草研究社�
