U.S. President-elect Donald Trump responded to criticism that his closest associate, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is exercising excessive influence and acting as a de facto ‘president’, calling it “fake news” and emphasizing that “there is no such thing.”
President-elect Trump gave a 90-minute speech about the new administration’s plans at the ‘Amariga Fest 2024’ event hosted by ‘Turning Point USA’ held in Phoenix, Arizona on the 22nd (local time). During this process, he said, “Recently, the Democratic Party has been telling a new lie. They are saying, ‘President Trump handed over the presidency to Musk,’ but no, no. “That doesn’t happen,” he emphasized. It appears that CEO Musk was conscious of the recent criticism that his political influence had grown to the extent of overturning the budget plan agreed upon by the ruling and opposition leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.
“He will not be president,” President-elect Trump said. “I can tell you,” he said, “I am safe. Do you know why? He cannot be president. “He wasn’t born in this country,” he said with a laugh. To become President of the United States, one must be born in the United States or both parents must be citizens. Although Musk is a citizen, he was born in South Africa, so it is legally impossible.
Bloomberg News commented on this, saying, “The fact that President-elect Trump mentioned Musk’s power in itself proves the extraordinary influence that Musk, the world’s richest man, showed during the second Trump administration.”
In fact, in his speech that day, President-elect Trump praised and expressed trust in CEO Musk on several occasions. He said, “I like smart people, and it’s good to have such a trustworthy person by my side.” He then mentioned the successful recovery of SpaceX’s so-called ‘Chopstick Fist’ space launch vehicle two months ago. President-elect Trump praised the event, saying, “It was an unbelievably wonderful feat to capture a huge space launch vehicle as if holding a beautiful baby in one’s arms.”
He also emphasized the fact that CEO Musk participated in the campaign in Pennsylvania, a swing state, and said, “He stayed in Pennsylvania for a month and helped us win that state, and we won overwhelmingly. “He is a truly great person,” he emphasized.
Nevertheless, in the U.S. political world, there is talk every day about Musk’s excessive political influence. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican who was once Trump’s closest confidant but then turned anti-Trump, said in an ABC News interview, “When Trump thinks something is wrong, he needs someone to blame, but when that person becomes Musk, the relationship (between the two) ends. . “No one knows how long that will take,” he said. “Trump’s people have an expiration date.”
Democratic Senator Chris Coons also pointed out in a CNN interview, “In the process of agreeing on a new budget, provisions restricting investment by American companies in China were omitted,” implying that this was influenced by Tesla’s factories in China.
On the other hand, Republican Senator Bill Haggerty said in a CNN interview, “Musk contributed to ‘transparency’ (in preparing the budget plan),” and added, “Thank God that Musk took over Twitter. “If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t even know what was in this budget.”
Meanwhile, in his speech that day, President-elect Trump promised to deport illegal immigrants and end transgenderism, saying, “I will explain the ‘common-sense revolution’ that the new administration will pursue.”
New York = Correspondent Lim Woo-sun [email protected]
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