UNITED STATES – A joke in very bad taste. The boss of X and Tesla Elon Musk made an inappropriate comment about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris the day after the alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Sunday, September 15. He was reprimanded by the White House.
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As reported by the American media, the controversial entrepreneur who is showing his support for the Republican for the American presidential election commented on the publication of a user of his social network who asked: “Why do they want to kill Donald Trump?” His response: “And no one is trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.”
His post, which was accompanied by an emoji with a thinking face, was deleted in the face of the outcry. Elon Musk then made a sort of mea culpa. “A lesson I’ve learned is that if I say something to a group and they laugh, it won’t be as hilarious in a tweet about X,” he wrote as an apology.
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
“Violence should always be condemned”
He added in a second message a little later: “Apparently jokes are MUCH less funny when people don’t have context, and what they’re given is just text.”
These words in the form of an apology did not prevent the White House from reacting and calling the billionaire’s remarks “irresponsible.” Spokesperson Andrew Bates added: “Violence should always be condemned, never encouraged or made a joke of.”
Especially since Kamala Harris and Joe Biden immediately expressed their relief to see Donald Trump safe and sound. Later, the president said there was “no place for political violence or any form of violence in the country,” and called for disputes to be resolved peacefully at the ballot box.
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Even the Secret Service, responsible for protecting presidents and former presidents, responded in an email seen by the New York Times: “We are aware of Elon Musk’s post. We do not comment (…) but we can say that the Secret Service investigates all threats to the people it protects.”
Donald Trump, for his part, did not take the side of appeasement and, as usual, blamed the Democrats. The suspect “adheres to the narrative of Biden and Harris, and has acted accordingly,” the former president told Fox News, a statement he had already made after the first assassination attempt on July 13, in which he was injured in the ear. “Because of this rhetoric from the communist left, bullets are flying and it’s only going to get worse,” the Republican added on his Truth Social network.
Tensions continue to rise 50 days before the presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the vice president who replaced Joe Biden at short notice in July. Polls continue to show that the results will be very close.
