- Precedents and political strategies
- Shifting loyalties and shared positions
- Harris vs. Trump: A fight for attention
- Trump’s reaction to the new candidate
- Trump’s return to the X platform
This Monday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participated in a two-hour interview with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on his social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter. The event experienced a delay of more than 40 minutes due to technical problems. Musk attributed these problems to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, although this claim could not be verified. Trump, undeterred by the setbacks, congratulated Musk on the high viewership, noting that as many as 1.3 million people came to hear the conversation at its peak.
Precedents and political strategies
The technical delay evoked memories of a similar event in May 2023, when Florida governor Ron DeSantis had a chaotic launch of his presidential bid on the same platform, also due to technical glitches. On that occasion, Trump taunted DeSantis on Truth Social, his own social network, boasting that his “red button” was bigger, better and more functional. Musk had previously announced scaling tests of the system prior to the event, but the company did not provide additional details about the alleged cyberattack.
As Reuters reports, during the interview, Musk praised Trump for his courage following an assassination attempt the previous month, while Trump acknowledged Musk’s steadfastness in firing employees who demanded better working conditions. “You’re the best cutter,” Trump asserted. “You come in, you just say, ‘Do you want to quit?’ They go on strike – I won’t mention the name of the company – but they go on strike. You respond, ‘No problem, everybody out’.”
Shifting loyalties and shared positions
Musk, recognised as the world’s richest man, announced his endorsement of Trump after the assassination attempt, despite Trump’s well-known stance against state funding for electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla. Musk, who endorsed Democratic president Joe Biden in 2020, has shifted his political stance to the right. “We are at a crossroads of destiny and civilisation,” Musk said at the end of the interview. “We have to take the right path, and I think you are that path.”
The conversation with Musk provided Trump with an unfiltered platform to express his usual rants, personal attacks and controversial and incorrect statements. Musk allowed Trump to lead the discussion without challenging his inaccurate claims, such as the accusation that other countries were sending criminals from their prisons across the southern US border, or the exaggeration that bacon prices had gone up by as many as four or five times. Studies show that immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, do not commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born US citizens.
Harris vs. Trump: A fight for attention
The interview was Trump’s latest attempt to regain the spotlight against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, who has revitalised her party and spurred higher fundraising than her opponent after her recent entry into the presidential race. Harris has dominated headlines with a series of energetic rallies since replacing Biden as the party’s nominee three weeks ago. Her momentum could intensify further with the Democratic National Convention next week in Chicago. In a statement after the interview, Harris campaign spokesman Joseph Costello sharply criticised Trump’s campaign, saying it only served the interests of people like Musk and himself, “self-obsessed rich guys who will betray the middle class and can’t even manage a live stream in 2024”.
At several points in the interview, Trump’s voice sounded with a slight lisp, something many listeners pointed out on X. Trump’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
Trump’s reaction to the new candidate
During the interview, Trump did not hold back in insulting Harris, referring to her as “third-rate”, “incompetent” and “a radical left-wing lunatic”. However, that did not stop him from praising her physical appearance, comparing her to that of a beautiful actress on the cover of Time magazine. “She looked a lot like a great first lady, Melania,” he added, referring to his wife Melania Trump.
In addition, Trump showed his displeasure with Biden’s replacement of Harris on the Democratic ticket. “She hasn’t given an interview since this whole hoax started,” Trump claimed, falsely accusing that Biden’s departure was a “coup”.
Trump, who previously led Biden in polls in key states, now finds himself trailing Harris in some of those same polls. While he has always been critical of electric vehicles, Trump has changed his stance following Musk’s endorsement, describing Tesla’s electric cars as “incredible”.
During the interview, Trump also praised authoritarian leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, claiming they were “at the top of their game”.
Trump’s return to the X platform
Trump returned to X with a series of posts last Monday, 12 August, reactivating his @realDonaldTrump account after a year of inactivity. His account had been suspended following his followers’ attack on Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021, but was restored a month after Musk acquired the platform. While Trump continues to use Truth Social as his primary means of communication, his reach on this platform is significantly less than on X.
Musk, who has repeated Trump’s false claims of voter fraud and Biden’s immigration policies, has established a political action committee (super PAC) to support Trump’s campaign. However, this group is under investigation in Michigan for possible violations of state laws on voter information collection.
The interview between Trump and Musk reflects the former president’s efforts to stay relevant in a campaign facing mounting challenges. As Kamala Harris gains momentum and captures attention with her energetic presence, Trump appears increasingly reliant on the influence of prominent personalities and controversial messaging to maintain his visibility. This approach highlights Trump’s difficulties in effectively connecting with the electorate and adapting to the changing demands of the presidential contest.
