In this file photo from 2020, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk talks with then-President Donald Trump, May 30, 2020, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Alex Brandon/AP
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Alex Brandon/AP
A much-touted interview between former President Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk got off to a late start on Monday after a lengthy technical delay that both men spun, without evidence, as an effort to silence them.
The conversation did not have a smooth start. As people tried to tune in, many were unable to, with an X message stating that the Spaces audio feed was unavailable. It finally began about 40 minutes later than advertised. Musk blamed a cyberattack, but he has not provided any evidence to support that, and the rest of the website appeared to be operating normally.
The hiccups were reminiscent of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s botched campaign rollout on X, then known as Twitter, last year, which was plagued with technical glitches and abruptly ended after 20 minutes.
On Monday, Musk, who has endorsed Trump, kicked off the interview by seeming to acknowledge his questions would not put pressure on the former president: “No one is really themselves in an adversarial interview,” Musk said. “It’s hard to catch a vibe about someone if you don’t hear them talk in just a normal way.”
They spent the first 20 minutes discussing the assassination attempt on Trump at a July rally in Butler, PA, during which Musk’s Trump support was on clear display.
Musk praised Trump for standing and raising his fist after being shot at.
“I think a lot of people admire your courage under fire,” Musk added.
After that, the two men transitioned into a subject they agree on: illegal immigration and what they see as the Biden administration’s failure to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
It marked the first major re-appearance of Trump on X, formerly known as Twitter, since Musk reinstated his account following his purchase of the platform in late 2022.
Twitter had banned the former president after his supporters rioted on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying Trump’s posts violated its rules against glorifying violence. Since then, Trump has spent most of his time online posting to his own social network, Truth Social.
The former president has been doing more online outreach as he tries to regain attention following Democrats’ move to swap Vice President Kamala Harris in as their nominee.
Monday’s interview was the most visible example so far of Musk’s increasingly open embrace of right-wing politics. He endorsed Trump in July after the assassination attempt against the former president. Close allies of Musk formed a super-PAC supporting Trump, and it is expected to pump millions of dollars into Trump’s re-election campaign.
This is a developing story and will be updated.