recounted his assassination attempt in vivid detail and promised the largest deportation in U.S. history during a high-profile return to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter 鈥� a conversation that was plagued by technical glitches.
鈥淚f I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now 鈥� as much as I like you,鈥� Trump told X鈥檚 owner .
Musk, a former Trump critic, said the Republican nominee鈥檚 toughness, as demonstrated by his reaction to last month鈥檚 shooting, was critical for national security.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some real tough characters out there,鈥� Musk said. 鈥淎nd if they don鈥檛 think the American president is tough, they will do what they want to do.鈥�
The rare public conversation between Trump and Musk, which spanned more than two hours Monday night and was overwhelmingly friendly, revealed little new about Trump鈥檚 plans for a second term. The former president spent much of the discussion focused on his recent assassination attempt, illegal immigration and his plans to cut government regulations.
Still, the online meeting underscored just how much the U.S. political landscape has changed less than four years after Trump was permanently banned by the social media platform鈥檚 former leadership for spreading disinformation that sparked the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress and undermined the very foundation of the American democracy.
Such disinformation under Musk鈥檚 leadership, although it was largely ignored during his conversation with Trump save for a passing Trump reference to a 鈥渞igged election.鈥�
The session was intended to serve as a way for the former president to reach potentially millions of voters directly. It was also an opportunity for X, a platform that relies heavily on politics, to redeem itself after some struggles.
It did not begin as planned.
With more than 878,000 users connected to the meeting more than 40 minutes after the scheduled start time, the interview had not yet begun. Many users received a message reading, 鈥淒etails not available.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 team posted that the 鈥渋nterview on X is being overwhelmed with listeners logging in.鈥� And once the meeting began, Musk apologized for the late start and blamed a 鈥渕assive attack鈥� that overwhelmed the company鈥檚 system. Trump鈥檚 voice sounded muffled at times.
Trump supporters were openly frustrated.
鈥淣ot available????? I planned my whole day around this,鈥� wrote conservative commentator Glenn Beck.
鈥淧lease let Elon know we can鈥檛 join,鈥� billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted.
Ahead of the event, Musk posted on the platform that X was conducting 鈥渟ome system scaling tests鈥� to handle what was anticipated to be a high volume of participants.
The rocky start was reminiscent of a May 2023 social media conversation between Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Republican governor was using the social media platform as a way to officially announce his presidential bid, marred by technical glitches, overloaded by the more than 400,000 people who tried to dial in.
Trump鈥檚 Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, noted that Trump mocked DeSantis at the time.
鈥淲ow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!鈥� Trump wrote in a message reposted by Harris鈥� campaign Monday.
Once the interview ended, Harris鈥� campaign responded with a statement saying, 鈥淭rump鈥檚 entire campaign is in service of people like Elon Musk and himself 鈥� self-obsessed rich guys who will sell out the middle class and who cannot run a livestream in the year 2024.鈥�
Monday鈥檚 meeting highlighted the evolving personal relationship between Trump and Musk, two of the world鈥檚 most powerful men, who have shifted from being bitter rivals to unlikely allies over the span of one election season.
Musk, who described himself as a 鈥渕oderate Democrat鈥� until recently, suggested in 2022 that Trump was too old to be president again. Still, Musk Trump two days after his assassination attempt last month.
During their talk, Trump welcomed the idea of Musk joining his next administration to help cut government waste. Musk volunteered to join a prospective 鈥済overnment efficiency commission.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e the greatest cutter,鈥� Trump told Musk. 鈥淚 need an Elon Musk 鈥� I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts. I want to close up the Department of Education, move education back to the states.鈥�
Even before his endorsement, the tech CEO had already been working privately to support a pro-Trump super PAC. The group, known as America PAC, is now under investigation by election officials for alleged misleading attempts to collect data from voters.
Meanwhile, Trump has softened his criticism of electric vehicles, citing Musk鈥檚 leadership of Tesla. And on Monday, at least, Trump returned to Musk鈥檚 social media platform in force. The former president made at least eight individual posts in the hours leading up to the Musk interview.
Long before he endorsed Trump, Musk turned increasingly toward the right in his posts and actions on the platform, also using X to try to sway political discourse around the world. He鈥檚 gotten in a over censorship, railed against what he calls the 鈥渨oke mind virus鈥� and that Democrats are secretly flying in migrants to vote in U.S. elections.
Musk has also reinstated previously banned accounts such as the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Trump, who was 鈥� then known as Twitter 鈥� two days after the Jan. 6 violence, with the company citing 鈥渢he risk of further incitement of violence.鈥� By November 2022, Musk had bought the company, and , although the former president refrained from tweeting until Monday, on his own Truth Social site, which he launched during the ban.
Trump鈥檚 audience on X is legions larger than on Truth Social, which earlier this year. Trump has just over 7.5 million followers on Truth Social, while his mostly dormant X account is followed by 88 million. Musk鈥檚 account, which hosted the interview, has more than 193 million followers.
In a reminder that the world was watching, the chat prompted a preemptive note of caution from Europe.
Thierry Breton, a French business executive and commissioner for internal market of the European Union, warned Musk of possible 鈥渁mplification of harmful content鈥� by broadcasting his interview with Trump. In a letter posted on X, Breton urged Musk to 鈥渆nsure X鈥檚 compliance鈥� with EU law, including the Digital Services Act, adopted in 2022 to address a number of issues including disinformation.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung urged the EU to 鈥渕ind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the U.S. Presidential election.鈥�
