Mr Musk, who owns the social networking platform — as well as electric car maker Tesla and private space company SpaceX, among others — had promised a “very exciting” interview. In any case, he allowed the tycoon to recycle trite campaign themes with a friendly interlocutor, determined not to contradict him on anything.
The former president promised “the largest deportation (of illegal immigrants) in U.S. history” if elected, claiming — falsely — that the mass influx during Joe Biden’s presidency has increased crime.
“We have people coming in droves, like (…) a zombie apocalypse,” said Mr. Musk, who has had a rather complicated relationship with Mr. Trump for years, but publicly announced his support for him after his assassination attempt last month.
The tech mogul, like Mr. Trump, called Kamala Harris, the new Republican opponent in the race for the White House, a candidate of the “radical left.”
The former president called his opponent “third-rate,” “incompetent,” “radical leftist lunatic” — but at the same time, praised her appearance in a photo shoot as part of an interview.
Moreover, as he appears to be struggling to deal with the excitement Ms. Harris’s entry into the race has generated, Mr. Trump has questioned the legitimacy of the process.
The decision by Mr Biden, 81, to drop out of his re-election campaign over concerns about his age and mental acuity was a “coup”, the 78-year-old Republican said.
The debate was watched live by more than a million users of the platform, from which Mr. Trump had been banned after his supporters stormed the federal Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021.
It started with a delay of more than 40 minutes due to technical problems, which were presented by Mr. Musk as a consequence of a cyber attack. He spoke of a “massive DDoS attack” (so-called “denial of service”), that is, an attempt to overwhelm servers and servers with heavy traffic and stop websites from working.
The attack, according to the owner of X, the former Twitter, shows that some did not want “to hear what (former) President Trump has to say”.
The embarrassing incident was reminiscent of the fiasco that erupted when former Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSandis, the governor of Florida, made his campaign descent. At the time, Mr. Trump took the opportunity to tout Truth Social, a competing platform and his own creation: “my red button is bigger, better, stronger and it works (Truth!),” he wrote, “yours. No”.
After the acquisition of the former Twitter by Mr. Musk, who renamed it X and allowed the former president to regain access to his account, the platform was criticized for its tolerance of misinformation. His critics point out that he has become a defender of the extreme right.
A few hours before the interview, the European commissioner for the Internal Market, effectively responsible for the internet, warned Mr. Musk that he had an obligation to control the content.
However, for two hours, the two billionaires gave the impression of friends who are discussing in private rather, they did not seem to disagree on anything.
Photo of @realDonaldTrump live on X with @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/NXf5e9DbGp
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 13, 2024
Mr Trump, for example, mocked international concern about climate change: rising sea levels, he said, would mean there would be “more beachfront property”. Without this preventing him from praising his interlocutor’s Tesla electric cars, which he says are “incredible”.
“It’s not like our house caught on fire,” offered Mr. Musk, who in turn flattered the candidate for the “epic” tweets he wrote in the past.
The exchange of compliments included the former chairman’s praise for Mr Musk’s anti-union practices: “You’re the biggest cutter” (of costs), he said, “if some go on strike (…) you say ‘okay, you’re all fired'”.
On the other hand, the host praised the “bravery” of the Republican after his assassination attempt.
Mr. Trump also recalled the relationships he has cultivated with authoritarian leaders, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin or North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. If he returns to power, the US will be safer internationally, he promised. “I think the world is underestimating the risk of a third world war,” Mr Musk said.
The businessman even appeared to be implicitly running for a position in a potential future Trump administration, saying he would like to be a member of a committee that would “make sure the taxpayers’ money is well spent.”
Three months before the presidential election, Mr. Musk closed by somewhat dramatizing the stakes of the Nov. 5 U.S. election: “I think we’re at an inflection point for the future of civilization, and I think we have to go the right way” — he is, in his opinion, for Americans to re-elect Donald Trump as president.
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