Elon Musk Removes Post Questioning the Trump Assassination Attempt.
Sohel Sobuj:
Elon Musk deleted a post on Monday morning that questioned why former President Donald Trump had faced two apparent assassination attempts in recent months, while President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have not encountered any. Musk later described the post as a joke.
In the now-deleted X post, Musk wrote, “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala 🤔.”
Despite numerous requests to remove the post throughout Sunday night, Musk initially resisted. In one response, he defended his remarks by stating, “No one has even tried to do so is the point I’m making and no one will.”
Eventually, Musk was persuaded by a post suggesting that his “obvious intent” might be misinterpreted. “Fair enough. I don’t want to do what they have done, even in jest,” Musk responded. He later clarified that the deleted post was meant as a joke.
However, Musk continued to engage with similar posts, including one with a thinking face emoji in response to a photo highlighting the four presidents before Trump who had not faced assassination attempts. X did not respond to requests for comment.
The White House criticized Musk’s comments as “irresponsible.” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates emphasized, “As President Biden and Vice President Harris said after yesterday’s disturbing news, ‘there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,’ and ‘we all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.’” Bates added, “Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about.”
The Secret Service acknowledged seeing Musk’s deleted post but declined to comment on any actions it might take. “As a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence,” said a Secret Service spokesperson. “We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees.”
The Secret Service is responsible for investigating threats against the president and vice president, even if they are made in jest. For example, in 2021, the agency investigated a joke made by comedian John Mulaney on “Saturday Night Live” comparing Trump to Julius Caesar, who was assassinated.
It remains unclear if Musk, who owns X, violated the platform’s terms of service with his posts. X prohibits “engaging in or promoting violent acts,” though Musk denied any intention of calling for violence. He has frequently tested the boundaries of X’s rules with minimal consequences.
Musk, who endorsed Trump following an assassination attempt in July and hosted him for an interview on X last month, has been shifting right politically. He has criticized progressives for what he terms a “woke mind virus” and warned of America's “doom” if Democrats retain the White House.
Musk’s posts have increasingly touched on conspiracy theories, including false claims about the Biden administration and voting by undocumented immigrants. He has also posted controversial content, such as AI-generated images depicting Kamala Harris with communist symbols and a widely criticized response to Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris.
This episode highlights the minimal oversight on the X platform.
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