Topline
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, reacted to an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Sunday by saying no one was trying to kill either President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, in a strongly-condemned post.
Key Facts
Musk reshared a post Sunday night asking why people want to kill Donald Trump and wrote: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala,” followed by the thinking face emoji.
The post immediately faced blowback from X users, but the billionaire—who has endorsed Trump—appeared to double down, responding with a “hundred points” emoji to a reply saying: “Trump threatens the machine. Biden/Kamala are the machine.”
Responding to another user who asked him to reconsider the post, saying “We need to unite,” Musk wrote: “No one has even tried to do so is the point I’m making and no one will.”
A few hours later, Musk responded to a follower asking him to reword his post because people were “misinterpreting your obvious intent” by saying: “Fair enough…I don’t want to do what they have done, even in jest.”
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After taking down the post, Musk appeared to suggest it was a joke, saying: “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.”
Chief Critics
Musk’s posts drew immediate condemnation from users on X. Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg criticized the post, calling it “appalling and indefensible.” Comedian Maz Jobrani tagged the Secret Secret service in his post, saying: “You may want to pay this guy a visit. He ain’t right in the head!” Brett Meiselas, founder of the left-leaning online outlet Meidas Touch, wrote: “Ok this requires an IMMEDIATE visit by the secret service and federal charges. Lock this guy up. This is so dangerous.”
Tangent
Earlier on Sunday, the New Hampshire Libertarian Party was condemned after tweeting: “Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.” The Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee, Chase Oliver, called the post “abhorrent” and wrote on X: “I 100% condemn the statement from LPNH regarding Kamala Harris…As Libertarians, we condemn the use of force, whether committed by governments, individuals, or other political entities.” The party account, however, dismissed criticism and wrote: “Encouraging politicians to be shot is legal under the first amendment. It’s part of what makes this country great.” The account, however, eventually took down the post and said they had done so because they did not want to “break the terms of this website we agreed to,” but added: “It’s a shame that even on a “free speech” website that libertarians cannot speak freely.”
Further Reading
Trump Safe After ‘Attempted Assassination’—Suspect Identified (Forbes)
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