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Elon Musk has deleted what he now claims was a “joke” about how “no one is trying to assassinate” President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris following the second attempt on Donald Trump’s life on Sunday.
The Tesla CEO, whose companies hold millions of dollars in government contracts, removed his post on X following fierce backlash over his comments.
On Sunday afternoon, Secret Service agents fired on a suspected gunman aiming an AK-47-style rifle through the fence at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf resort.
The suspect, later named as Ryan Routh, allegedly fled the scene before being tracked down and taken into custody. Trump was unharmed in the incident.
Musk weighed in on the assassination attempt in a post on X, responding to a user who asked: “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?”
“And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala,” Musk replied, accompanied by the thinking face emoji.
Musk was immediately called out, with X users blasting his comment as “irresponsible” and “dangerous.”
“I would reconsider this post. S***’s getting out of hand. We need to unite,” one person said.
Initially refusing to back down, Musk tried to explain: “No one has even tried to do so is the point I’m making and no one will.”
Some called for Musk to be stripped of his government contracts and be visited by the Secret Service after his comment.
Former 2016 Trump campaign adviser A.J Delago, who describes herself as “now proudly anti-Trump”, responded: “If you or I said this, the FBI would be at our door tomorrow and hauling us away for questioning.”
“Musk needs to be stripped of his government contracts and have his companies nationalized,” another user wrote.
Former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega said: “In all seriousness, as a former federal prosecutor, I can tell you that a statement like Elon Musk’s below DOES require an immediate visit by the U.S. Secret Service. That is the protocol in every similar situation.”
Former Republican representative Adam Kinzinger, who backed Kamala Harris for president at the Democratic National Convention, said: “Dude I’m not kidding here, get help. This is unhinged and dangerous.”
He added: “Can anyone who loves him have an intervention... I’m serious this is off the rails”.
Jocelyn Benson, secretary of state for Michigan, said: “Oh and @elonmusk - no one should be trying to assassinate anybody.”
Musk later removed the post and tried to row back, alleging it was a “joke” and people did not understand “the context” or “delivery”. He has not apologized.
“Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on 𝕏,” Musk said. “Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text.”
The Independent has contacted the White House and the Harris campaign for comment.
Musk’s post comes just days after he was criticised for making “creepy” and “unsettling” comments about Taylor Swift on his social media platform.
Hours after Swift announced she was endorsing Harris in the presidential race, Musk responded, telling the pop megastar he would “give” her a baby – in what appeared to be a reference to Trump’s running mate JD Vance’s previous “childless cat lady” comments.
“Elon responding tonight by telling Taylor Swift he’ll impregnate her is peak weirdo and creeper behaviour,” one person said on X.
Musk’s daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson, 20, also condemned her father’s comments. “Heinous incel nonsense is in fact heinous incel nonsense,” she said in a Threads post, the Meta competitor to Musk’s X.
