In a captivating two-hour discussion with Elon Musk, Donald Trump expressed his belief that his “enemies” within the country pose a greater threat than adversaries abroad, like China and Russia. This conversation unfolded on the platform X and experienced a delay due to technical glitches.
Musk anticipated an audience of 8 million for this chat with the former president. However, despite the delayed start, over a million people tuned in from time to time. Trump lauded the interaction as the “greatest interview ever.”
Recently, Trump has been strategizing to navigate a more competitive presidential race after Vice President Kamala Harris surprisingly surpassed President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for the upcoming election.
The conversation largely revolved around Trump’s attempt to appeal to Musk, who is known for championing free speech and has shown a shift towards the right. Musk has actively used the platform X to advance his views on immigration and regulation matters.
The former president began with a detailed account of the July assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, promising to visit the community in October, close to the November elections.
Trump accused the Democrats of plotting a “coup” to remove Biden from the presidential race. Musk added an intriguing analogy, suggesting the party took Biden “out back behind the shed and basically shot him.”
The former president further alleged that Harris was shifting her stance on immigration and leaning towards becoming a “radical left, San Francisco liberal.” Trump claimed she was now attempting to outdo him regarding conservatism.
As Harris’s popularity grows, Trump has found it challenging to formulate a coherent counter-strategy. His comments were inconsistent, often avoiding direct criticism of Harris by name.
He expressed his frustration, stating that he faces “enemies on the outside and enemies on the inside,” and emphasized the threat posed by “bad people in our government.” Comparing them to foreign adversaries, he described officials from Russia, China, and North Korea as “vicious, intelligent, and tough.”
Throughout the dialogue, Musk lauded Trump while also trying to guide the conversation towards more moderate topics like immigration, distinguishing between legal and illegal immigration, and discussing fiscal responsibility and carbon emissions.
Trump made some bold statements, asserting that selling American cars in Europe is “impossible” and that American farmers face significant challenges in trading their produce internationally. He also downplayed European support while exaggerating U.S. support for Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia.
He claimed a $250 billion trade deficit with the EU, describing them as “nasty” but not as formidable as China. He added, “The European Union sounds quite pleasant, but they do not respect our nation.”
Before the interview, Musk received a letter from EU Commissioner Thierry Breton warning him not to breach the Digital Services Act by spreading misinformation or hate speech. Following Trump’s endorsement of Musk’s actions against striking employees, the United Auto Workers union filed federal labor charges against both “disgraced billionaires Donald Trump and Elon Musk.”
In the interview, Trump remarked on fighting workers with the phrase, “When they go on strike, you say, ‘OK, you’re all gone.’” The UAW pointed out that firing workers for striking breaches federal law.
Towards the end, Trump criticized Biden, suggesting he was “near a vegetable state,” to which Musk replied, “We just don’t have a president right now.” Musk had previously criticized Trump’s age, stating in 2022 that, at 82 years old by term’s end, Trump would be too old to be a chief executive of any organization, including the U.S.
After the discussion, a representative from the Harris campaign, described Trump’s presentation as “extremism,” laying it bare for those engaged in the conversation.
The campaign official added, “Trump’s entire campaign is on behalf of self-centred, wealthy individuals who will sell out the middle class, like himself and Elon Musk.”
