CNN
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Elon Musk deleted a post Monday morning that questioned why former President Donald Trump faced two apparent assassination attempts in recent months, while President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris did not. Musk later claimed the post was a joke.
“And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala 🤔,” Musk wrote in the now-deleted X-rated post.
Elon Musk initially resisted numerous calls throughout Sunday night to remove the post. In a message responding to a request to remove his remarks, Elon Musk double“No one has even tried to do it, is what I mean, and no one will.”
But Musk was eventually convinced by a X post That being said, Musk’s “obvious intention” could be misinterpreted.
“That’s true. I don’t want to do what they did, even as a joke,” Musk said. answeredHe then posted several times that the deleted message was a joke.
However, Musk later responded to a similar message, replying with a thinking face emoji to a photo that noted that the four presidents before Trump faced no assassination attempts while Trump apparently faced two. X did not respond to a request for comment.
CNN has reached out to the Secret Service, which is tasked with investigating perceived threats against the president and vice president — sometimes even if they are meant in jest. In 2021, the Secret Service investigated a joke made by comedian John Mulaney on “Saturday Night Live” comparing Trump to Julius Caesar, who was assassinated.
It’s unclear whether Elon Musk, owner of X, violated the platform’s terms of service with these posts. He has regularly flouted his platform’s rules without much consequence. X has said it prohibits “engaging in or promoting violent acts,” though Musk has denied calling for violence.
Musk endorsed Trump for president after an assassination attempt in July, and he hosted Trump last month in an interview on X.
It’s part of a rightward shift by Elon Musk that has gained momentum in recent years. Musk, the world’s richest man, decries what he calls the “woke mind virus” of progressives. And he has warned of America’s imminent “ruin” if Democrats retain control of the White House.
But Musk’s posts aren’t just run-of-the-mill political chatter. He’s increasingly engaged in conspiracy theories, including the false claim that the Biden administration would allow undocumented immigrants to vote in U.S. elections. He’s also pushed the envelope — or crossed it — by posting fake images and using bigoted language to support his causes.
For example, Musk has posted numerous AI-generated images of Harris, including one showing her speaking in front of a crowd filled with communist imagery and symbols. And after Taylor Swift endorsed Harris for president by signing off as “childless cat lady,” Musk responded with a widely criticized post: “Very well Taylor… you win… I will give you a child and I will protect your cats at the risk of my life.”
This is the latest illustration of how few safeguards exist on the X platform.
