During a rather one-sided conversation on Platform X (formerly Twitter) that began with technical issues, Trump spoke of a “zombie apocalypse” on immigration, repeatedly called US President Joe Biden “stupid” and hinted at the possibility of a new anti-missile defense system similar to the one protecting Israel.
The Republican presidential candidate has also dismissed climate change, saying rising sea levels will simply create more real estate opportunities.
“The biggest threat is not global warming, because sea levels will rise by an eighth of an inch over the next 400 years,” he told Musk. – There will be more wealth on the shores of the sea, right? This is not the biggest threat. The biggest threat is nuclear warming, because there are five countries that have major nuclear power right now, and we have to prevent that from happening because of stupid people like Mr. Biden.”
The chat, which was billed as an “unlimited” conversation, started more than half an hour later than scheduled due to technical issues, with many tune-ins unable to listen live, with Musk saying X had suffered a cyber attack.
“Apocalypse” at the border
The talk was intended to help breathe life into Trump’s stalled campaign, which has weakened since Mr. Biden dropped out of the race to be replaced by upstart Kamala Harris.
Young men who see Musk as a hero are a valuable target for Trump, whose followers are often older. Musk, who has said he previously voted for Democrats, voiced his support for Trump after an attempt on the Republican’s life at a campaign rally last month.
The technical issues were reported after Musk fired a number of X employees. They also pointed out that the Tesla chief had previously supported Trump’s rival, Ron DeSantis, whose campaign launch on Musk’s platform was also marred by issues.
When things finally settled down, Musk said that “the massive attack shows that there’s a lot of resistance to people hearing what President Trump has to say.”
Trump was banned from Twitter after his supporters in 2021. stormed the US Capitol in January, but Musk reinstated his account when he took over the platform and renamed it. The South African-born billionaire has gained an important voice on the US political scene, but he is accused of turning X into a tool for spreading right-wing conspiracy theories.
He is one of the fiercest critics of the Democrats. In front of his millions of followers on the X network, Musk has attacked liberal efforts to increase diversity and inclusion and the White House’s handling of the southern border.
“People are flocking to us,” Musk told Trump, comparing the border to the “zombie apocalypse” depicted in the movie “World War Z.” “The United States simply cannot absorb all the people on Earth,” he assured her.
Cost Cutter
During his conversation with Musk, Trump often returned to a favorite theme of bragging about his relationship with autocrats such as Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and argued that America would be safer if he were in charge. “One of the things we’re going to do is build the Iron Dome,” Trump said, referring to Israel’s missile defense system.
Musk reiterated his strong support for Trump, saying the former president is “the path to prosperity, and Kamala is the opposite.” At one point, he appeared to be in the running for a job in the incoming Trump administration, hinting that he would like to serve on the spending cuts committee.
“I think it would be great to have a government efficiency commission to look at things like this and make sure that taxpayers’ money … is being spent properly,” he said. “I would be happy to help such a commission.”
Mr. Trump seemed to be convinced by this proposal. “You’re the ultimate clipper,” he told Musk, who laid off dozens of employees when he took over Twitter.
2024-08-13 22:35:40