The White House has strongly criticized Elon Musk for a recent tweet where he said, no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala. This was in response to someone asking why there was a desire to kill Donald Trump. The White House labeled Musk’s tweet as irresponsible and emphasized that violence should never be encouraged or joked about. They stated, There should be no place for political violence or any violence in our country.
The Secret Service also responded on Monday, noting they were aware of Musk’s post on X, the social media platform he owns, previously known as Twitter. Musk made this post after news broke of a man being arrested for allegedly planning to harm Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach. Musk, a supporter of Trump, faced criticism from both left and right-leaning X users who worried that his tweet could incite violence against President Biden and Vice President Harris.
Musk deleted the tweet but not before it caught the attention of the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting current and former presidents and other officials. A spokesperson from the Secret Service said they investigate all threats related to their protectees but did not confirm if they had contacted Musk.
Musk later attempted to clarify his post, suggesting it was meant as a joke. He wrote, 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. Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text.”
Vice President Harris and President Biden both released statements on Sunday night expressing their relief that Trump had not been harmed.
This article was updated on September 16, 2024. The original version mistakenly suggested that Musk’s tweet was asking why people wanted to kill Trump, but it was actually a reply to that question.