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Elon Musk drew fierce backlash on his own X (formerly Twitter) platform for what was slammed as an “appalling and indefensible” response to an apparent second attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump, the current GOP presidential nominee.
Per the FBI, Trump was the subject of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in Florida on Sunday, some nine weeks after he was injured when shots were fired during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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Musk posted: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.”
The billionaire, who has 197 million followers, added a thinking-face emoji.
The criticism came fast as Musk — who has endorsed Trump’s 2024 campaign — was accused of stoking division and inflaming tensions.
Musk later deleted the post.
He explained, “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.”
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
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2024
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“Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text,” he added.
Musk did not elaborate on who was in the group that he initially told the “joke” to and who he said had found it “hilarious.”
Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2024
Musk’s explanation went down as badly as his alleged “joke” did.
Here’s how commenters responded to the initial comment:
Elon Musk just tweeted this and this is okay? https://t.co/X1qNnisj59
— Jvy_almighty (@JvyAlmighty) September 16, 2024
This is a dangerous and disturbing provocation. https://t.co/1xPdcBcPHD
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) September 16, 2024
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If you or I said this, the FBI would be at our door tomorrow and hauling us away for questioning. https://t.co/adLDboTtsY
— A.J. Delgado (@AJDelgado13) September 16, 2024
and they say this site has advertising problems https://t.co/nhO3ulEIOm
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) September 16, 2024
Another example of why your children hate you.
— Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) September 16, 2024
This is literally incitement.
— DemsMight 🇺🇸 (@demsmight) September 16, 2024
— Matthew Podszus (@matthew_podszus) September 16, 2024Hello @DOJCrimDiv and @SecretService.
Whenever a US citizen infers that people should consider assassinating @POTUS or @VP, I believe it should be taken very seriously.
Please take @elonmusk's statement here under serious consideration. https://t.co/70yrmGXuUN
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this is a defense contractor @FBI @SecretService @CIA https://t.co/uyIEZVLR91
— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) September 16, 2024
This is actually crazy. You’ve officially lost it dude and it’s sad to see. A lot of people look up to you but you’re being super irresponsible all because you crave attention https://t.co/REYfWEWJia
— Jonathan Morrison 🙋🏻♂️ (@tldtoday) September 16, 2024
WTF??? @SecretService you may want to pay this guy a visit. He ain’t right in the head! https://t.co/kZ5oaWD73U
— MazJobrani (@MazJobrani) September 16, 2024
This is appalling and indefensible. https://t.co/QXAHfOdTnS
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) September 16, 2024
this guy is out of control https://t.co/9DQOPeKn3w
— David Kaye (@davidakaye) September 16, 2024
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Imagine being the richest man in the world and buying a powerful social media platform, and this (among other outrageously irresponsible tweets) is what you do with it. https://t.co/6WKPTWMDqW
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) September 16, 2024
Hey, richest man in the world with incalculable power and influence, please don’t say things like this https://t.co/yUanxcCyaq
— Preston Moore, M.A. (@prestoncmoore) September 16, 2024
— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) September 16, 2024When it comes to murder, suddenly @elonmusk is a big fan of diversity equity & inclusion
Seems about right . https://t.co/9namrPJZGB
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I had a security clearance for most of my adult life. If I had said something like this, I would’ve lost it instantly. And yet this guy is still a major government contractor. https://t.co/exrI8VYsa7
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 16, 2024
And here’s how they reacted to his explainer:
Nothing is funny about sending a tweet about assassinating the President and Vice President. He deleted his tweet, but the targeted audience received the message. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
— 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢 (@ChidiNwatu) September 16, 2024
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if you have to explain your joke it is not funny
— Mantis (@mantis) September 16, 2024
tee-hee i was just joking about killing the president hehe im da joker baby! pic.twitter.com/zDIPU7eaSU
— Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) September 16, 2024