The two-hour “discussion” between U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump and X platform owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk faced technical issues, starting 40 minutes late. Musk hinted at a cyberattack, which prevented thousands from joining. During the conversation, Trump attacked Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, focusing on issues like inflation and illegal immigration. Musk expressed his support, and Trump suggested Musk could have a role in his potential administration, particularly in managing government efficiency.
“It seems there is a massive DDOS attack on X. We’re working to shut it down. At worst, we’ll proceed with a smaller number of live listeners and publish the conversation later,” commented Elon Musk in a message on X. This was followed by hundreds of sarcastic messages from users highlighting that the platform owned by Musk crashed right from the start.
Ultimately, during the “discussion” as described by the organizers, Trump and Musk exchanged several compliments, while the US presidential candidate launched relentless attacks against his running mate, Kamala Harris, and outgoing President Joe Biden, focusing his criticism on his “privileged” areas, such as inflation, irregular migration, and the… Ministry of Education. “It was a tough blow” Initially, however, the discussion revolved around the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, saying that “he immediately knew it was a bullet” and that “it was not pleasant.” “It was a tough blow. It was very, I guess you would say, surreal, but it wasn’t surreal. I knew immediately it was a bullet,” commented Trump on the moment when, as he said, the bullet hit his ear. He revealed that his first question was “How many people were killed?”, thinking that there were more shots fired. However, he stated that he would visit Pennsylvania again in October, recalling his traumatic experience in the final stretch. The head of Tesla stated that Trump’s reaction during the assassination attempt he experienced was one of the reasons he endorsed his candidacy for the White House, saying that he found the US presidential candidate at that moment “simply incredibly inspired.”
Fear “Nuclear Heating“
In the field of energy, Elon Musk defended the oil and natural gas industries from being “demonized,” as well as the electric vehicle business, which he has created as a form of clean energy. On his part, Donald Trump repeatedly stated during the discussion that “nuclear heating” posed a greater threat than “global warming,” describing nuclear energy as “the greatest threat.”
Worse than Bernie Sanders
Additionally, the U.S. presidential candidate observed that it “makes no sense” not to have high-speed trains in the U.S. and suggested creating high-speed tunnels, an idea that is part of Elon Musk’s The Boring Company project. This was not the only point of agreement between Trump and Musk, as both criticized Kamala Harris, calling her “far-left.” Musk stated, “They are rewriting history and making Kamala sound mediocre, when in reality she is far-left, like far, far-left,” while Donald Trump described her as “worse than Bernie Sanders.” “She is considered far more liberal, by far, than Bernie Sanders; she is a radical left-wing crazy. And if she becomes president, very soon, you will no longer have a country,” said the former president. Trump also attacked Harris for choosing Tim Walsh as her Vice President. “Many people thought she would choose the opposite, but she chose a person against Israel, from the radical left,” he emphasized.
Czar of the Border
Both launched attacks against the Biden administration on illegal immigration, with Donald Trump claiming that other countries are sending criminals and people with mental illnesses across the borders. He accused Kamala Harris of being appointed as President Biden’s “czar of the border,” and promised that if elected, “we will have the largest deportation in the history of this country.”
Trump’s Minister: Musk
In addition to being a conversational partner, Donald Trump found in Elon Musk a potential ally, as Musk volunteered to take on a role in a future Trump administration, should the former President be re-elected, to curb government spending. “I believe it would be great to have a government efficiency committee that would look into these matters and ensure that taxpayer money, the money earned by taxpayers through hard work, is spent in a good way,” Musk argued, adding that “I would be happy to help with such an initiative.” For his part, Donald Trump commented that he “would like” to have Elon Musk involved in a future government role, noting that the billionaire is a “great cost-cutter,” given the cost-reduction measures at his companies.
During their more than two-hour discussion, there were numerous instances where each praised the other, eliciting public compliments. “You are the path to prosperity. And I think Kamala is the opposite,” Elon Musk told the U.S. presidential candidate, while Donald Trump, in turn, said he would enlist Musk against the Department of Education. “Here I need an Elon Musk, I need someone who has a lot of strength, courage, and intelligence,” he stated.
Among the… discordant notes in the ping-pong of compliments between the two interlocutors, Trump was noted to have mixed up his words, with his campaign representative, Steven Chung, commenting that “it must be the listening.”
