Support truly
independent journalism
Former president Donald Trump sparked laughter at the Moms for Liberty event in Washington DC when he mocked Tesla CEO turned close political ally Elon Musk.
On Friday night, Trump appeared on stage at the annual summit for Moms for Liberty – a national nonprofit that has led efforts to get mentions of LGBT+ identity and structural racism out of classrooms across the country.
In his rambling comments, the Republican presidential candidate railed against transgender people participating in women’s sports, called for access to gender-affirming healthcare to be restricted and wildly – and falsely – claimed that his daughter Ivanka Trump hired “millions of people” during his administration.
At one moment, talk turned to Musk.
While Trump called Musk a “super genius”, he mocked his space endeavors and impersonated the controversial tech billionaire’s voice and mannerisms.
“With Elon, it’s like, ‘well, you know, I’m doing a new stainless steel hub that can get us around the engines much quicker because there’s a problem with the type of engine going into space nowadays,’” Trump said, attempting to imitate Musk’s voice.
The moment prompted laughter from the right-wing audience.
Trump was referencing Musk’s work with SpaceX, the spacecraft manufacturer that Musk launched in 2002.
His roast of Musk comes after the tech billionaire has thrown his support behind Trump in recent months.
Following the assassination attempt on Trump on July 13, Musk publicly endorsed Trump for the 2024 presidential election.
Two weeks ago, Musk also interviewed Trump live on X, where they both devolved into gripes.
Trump used the opportunity to try to blame President Joe Biden for the litany of legal challenges he’s facing while Musk griped about how he’s been portrayed as a “far-right guy” in the current media climate.
He called the notion “absurd” because “I’m, like, making electric vehicles.” He added: “I stood in line for six hours to shake Obama’s hand when he was president.”
While Musk has endorsed Trump this election cycle, in 2016 he said Trump was “not the right guy” for the job, adding he did not have the “sort of character that reflects well on the United States.”
