On Monday, August 12th, former President Donald Trump had a conversation with Elon Musk on X that lasted over 2 hours. During the talk, Trump vividly described his assassination attempt and discussed a wide range of topics including energy, border security, immigration, and global order.
“If I hadn’t glanced over, I wouldn’t be here talking to you right now, although I really like you,” Trump said to Musk.
At that time, Trump turned to look at an illegal immigrant chart, causing the bullet fired by the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, to graze Trump’s right ear.
“Illegal immigrants saved my life,” Trump joked.
In the past, Musk was a critic of Trump and voted for Biden in the previous US election. However, his stance has gradually shifted in recent years, especially after Trump’s recent attack, clearly expressing support for the Republican presidential candidate.
During the conversation, Musk mentioned that Trump’s response to the shooting incident showed his strength, which is crucial for national security.
Musk said, “There are some very tough characters out there. If they think the US president is not tough enough, they will do as they please.”
In this rare public dialogue, most of the conversation was friendly. The two discussed topics such as US border policies, energy issues, economy, and international situations.
Both agreed that the surge in illegal immigration has impacted social stability in the US and believed that the Biden administration has failed to ensure border security between the US and Mexico.
Trump stated that if immigration continues at its current level, the US will be unrecognizable. He promised to execute the largest deportation operation in US history if elected.
On the other hand, Musk had a more moderate view on immigration. He believed that legal immigration is good and that most illegal border crossers are good people but emphasized the need for strong screening mechanisms to prevent dangerous individuals from entering.
In recent years, Trump’s Democratic presidential opponent and US Vice President, Kamala Harris, has been responsible for coordinating with foreign countries to address the issues of poverty and security that drive people to enter the US illegally. Trump criticized the sharp increase in illegal border crossings despite such efforts.
They also discussed topics such as energy, inflation, and the threat of nuclear warfare.
Trump expressed his concerns about artificial intelligence (AI), especially its significant power consumption.
He acknowledged Musk’s enthusiasm for AI but then expressed shock, saying, “However, it shocks me that AI requires twice the energy of the current US power supply.”
“You will need a lot of electricity, you will need a huge amount of energy, almost twice the electricity we produce for the entire country now,” he added.
Trump emphasized his understanding of Russian President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, calling them smart but also malevolent.
He warned Putin against invading Ukraine, believing that a strong US leader could prevent a Russia-Ukraine war and the resulting loss of life.
During the interview, they also discussed improving the efficiency of the federal government. Musk suggested forming a committee to identify ways to reduce government spending.
Overall, the conversation between Trump and Musk was relaxed, covering a wide range of topics, many of which Trump had previously addressed at campaign rallies.
This interview marked Trump’s return to the X platform (formerly Twitter). In the hours leading up to the interview, Trump posted multiple times on the platform, indicating that he may again use X as a communication channel during the campaign.
The meeting between the two allowed Trump to directly engage with millions of voters.
Trump’s follow count on X is still much higher than on Truth Social. Currently, Trump has over 7.5 million fans on Truth Social, while his long-dormant X account still has 88 million followers. Musk, who hosted the interview this time, has over 193 million followers on his account.
However, the event did not start as planned. Many users reported being unable to join the audio space on the X platform.
Musk explained that earlier today, the company tested the system with 8 million listeners. However, the platform reportedly experienced a “massive DDOS attack,” causing system overload.
The event was supposed to start at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. It was eventually delayed by 42 minutes due to technical issues. According to X platform stats, there were over 1.3 million users listening to the live broadcast at its peak.
Musk mentioned that after the conversation ended, they would immediately release the “unedited audio file.”