Donald Trump on Monday dismissed rumors that he had ceded the presidency to billionaire Elon Musk as a “hoax” and reaffirmed that he will serve as the next president of the United States.
“No, he’s not taking the presidency,” Trump told a conservative youth group, Turning Point USA.
“You know, they’re on a new kick,” he said. “All the different hoaxes. The new one is that President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk. No, no, that’s not happening,” Bloomberg quoted Trump as saying.
Trump’s comments come amid rising concerns in the U.S. about Musk’s growing influence in politics, particularly since Trump was elected for a second term. Musk, the world’s richest man, played a significant role in supporting Republican efforts as the GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday to avert a midnight government shutdown.
Despite the rumors, Trump expressed admiration for Musk, who is among the largest donors to his presidential campaign. “Isn’t it nice to have smart people we can rely on? Don’t we want that? But no, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you,” Trump said. “And I’m safe. You know why? He can’t be. He wasn’t born in this country. Ha ha ha,” he told his audience in Phoenix.
Elon Musk and Trump
Donald Trump has embraced Elon Musk’s vision of cost-cutting and deregulation by announcing the creation of a temporary agency called the Department of Government Efficiency. The agency, to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, operates less like a formal department and more as a small group based out of Musk’s SpaceX office in Washington, organized around an account on Musk’s social media platform, X.
Musk’s growing influence in U.S. policy-making has raised concerns, as many of his companies are subject to federal regulation and benefit from government contracts.
During Trump’s presidential campaign, Musk contributed $238.5 million, making him the largest single donor in U.S. election history.
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