Former President Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk discussed a range of issues for two hours on Musk’s social media platform on Monday night, drawing over one million listeners.
After initially crashing due to what Musk described as a “massive DDOS attack,” the virtual fireside chat finally started around 8:30 p.m. ET, about 30 minutes after the discussion was scheduled to begin. Musk and the Republican presidential nominee talked about the economy, immigration, the attempted assassination of Trump, and the Democrats switching out Joe Biden for Kamala Harris.
Here are the best moments from the interview:
Trump Describes July 13 Assassination Attempt
Musk started the interview by asking Trump about the attempt on his life one month ago in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the former president described it as “not pleasant.”
“I knew immediately that it was a bullet. I knew immediately that it was at the ear … and I also heard people shout, ‘Bullets! Bullets!'” Trump said. He added that surviving the assassination attempt increased his faith in God.
“I’m a believer. Now, I’m more of a believer,” he said.
LISTEN TO President Trump SPEAKING about the Assassination Attempt On him in the Trump Interview. More than 1 Million have joined- “It WASN’T PLEASANT” #Trump #ElonMusk #TrumpOnX #TrumpInterview pic.twitter.com/OBu5tSh3zu
— Rosy (@rose_k01) August 13, 2024
“When you think of the odds of that … it’s very much an act of God, a miracle that it happened. I’m honored by it,” Trump added.
“When you think of the odds of that … it’s very much an act of God, a miracle that it happened. I’m honored by it.”@realDonaldTrump tells @elonmusk just how miraculous it was for him to survive the assassination attempt. pic.twitter.com/uELAwbpZri
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 13, 2024
Trump Hammers Home Message on Economy and Inflation
During the lengthy interview, Trump focused on the economy and inflation, two top issues for voters heading into the election. The Republican nominee blasted the Biden-Harris administration, telling Musk, “The election is coming up and the people want to hear about the economy and the fact that they can’t buy groceries because they don’t have enough money to buy groceries.”
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“The inflation has killed them. Food prices are up 50, 60, even 100% in some cases and this stupid administration allowed this to happen, and it’s a shame,” he added. “And that’s the thing people most care about in my opinion.”
Musk, Trump Talk at Length about Immigration and Energy Policy
The SpaceX founder and presidential candidate spent time addressing the illegal immigration crisis that has exploded under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership. Trump slammed Harris, saying that she is now trying to act tough on the border even though she “could do things right now.”
“She’s saying she was strong on the border. ‘We’re going to be strong.’ Well, she doesn’t have to say [it]; she could close it up right now. … They could do things right now. It’s horrible,” he said.
On energy policy, Trump hit Biden for canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and said the U.S. must bring energy and gas prices down.
“Now, your cars don’t require too much gasoline and you do make a great product, I have to say. I have to be honest with you,” Trump told Musk. “That doesn’t mean everybody should have an electric car, but these are minor details.”
Musk agreed that not everyone should be forced to drive an EV and said he doesn’t agree with the Left “vilifying the oil and gas industry.”
“We do, over time, want to move to a sustainable energy economy because eventually, you do run out of oil. … [I]t’s not like the house is on fire immediately, it is something we want to move towards,” Musk added.
Trump Blasts Harris for Avoiding Interviews
The Republican nominee told Musk that “it’s pretty sad” that Harris has seemingly been avoiding the media after becoming the Democrats’ nominee.
“Do you think that Biden could do this interview? Do you think that Kamala could do this interview?” Trump asked.
“No, they could not,” Musk responded.
“It’s pretty sad when you think that somebody that does this for a living can’t answer a question or is afraid to do an interview,” the former president added.
TRUMP: By the way, you think Biden could do this interview? Do you think that Kamala could do this interview?
MUSK: No, they could not.
TRUMP: It’s pretty sad when you think that somebody that does this for a living can’t answer a question or is afraid to do an interview. pic.twitter.com/40bxlSAnKn
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 13, 2024
Trump Tells Musk Biden Was Ousted By Democrats in a ‘Coup’
Trump and Musk discussed the Democrats’ unprecedented presidential nominee switch last month, a move Trump described as a “coup.” The Republican nominee also blasted Vice President Harris, calling her “incompetent.”
“We cannot have her. She’s incompetent. She’s as bad as Biden,” Trump said. “Look, she hasn’t done an interview since this whole scam started. And say what you want, this was a coup of the president of the United States. He didn’t want to leave, and they said, ‘We can do it the nice way or we can do it the hard way.'”
Musk: Dems ‘Took [Biden] Out Back Behind the Shed and Basically Shot Him’
Musk agreed with Trump’s analysis of Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 campaign, saying, “They just took him out back behind the shed and basically shot him.”
“Say what you want, this was a coup of a president of the United States.”@realDonaldTrump to @elonmusk on President Biden dropping out of the 2024 Presidential race. pic.twitter.com/DxPqEWJcle
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 13, 2024
Musk Volunteers to Help Trump Administration Ensure Taxpayers’ Money is Spent Efficiently
While discussing the federal government’s role and how it uses taxpayer dollars, Musk said he “would be happy to help” in a Trump administration.
“I think it would be great to just have a government efficiency commission that takes a look at these things and just ensures that the taxpayers’ hard-earned money is spent in a good way,” Musk told Trump. “And I’d be happy to help out on such a commission.”
“I’d love it,” Trump replied.
.@elonmusk tells @realDonaldTrump that he “would be happy to help” the Trump Administration ensure efficient government use of taxpayer dollars. pic.twitter.com/M9MOg4ImhZ
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 13, 2024