White House slams Elon Musk’s ‘joke’ tweet about lack of Harris assassination attempts
Elon Musk has been criticised by the White House over his comments (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
The White House has issued a scathing response to a deleted tweet by Elon Musk in which he joked that “no one is even trying” to assassinate president Joe Biden or vice-president Kamala Harris.
The Tesla chief executive, who bought X, then known as Twitter, for an estimated $44 billion (£38.1 billion at the time), questioned why Biden and Harris have not faced threats to their lives following a second alleged assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at his Florida golf course on Sunday (15 September).
The first attempt on the Republican presidential nominee took place in July when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at him during a rally in Pennsylvania. Trump was struck on the ear, prompting a trend in which his supporters put plasters and dressing on their ears as a show of support.
In reply to a post which asked: “Why do they want to kill Donald Trump?” Musk, who has endorsed the Republican’s run for the presidency, responded: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden or Kamala.”
The comment was lambasted on social media, with many people seeing it as a provocative. Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg labelled it “appalling and indefensible”, while Michigan secretary of state and Democrat Jocelyn Benson, replied: “No one should be trying to assassinate anybody.”
Musk, however, insisted it was a joke. “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,” he wrote.
But the White House responded by calling his rhetoric “irresponsible”.
Following the incident in Florida, Biden said he had been briefed and commended the Secret Service for their “efforts to keep the former president and those around him safe”.
He went on to say: “I am relieved that the former president is unharmed. There is an active investigation as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened.
“As I have said many times: there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that the Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president’s continued safety.”
Trump’s rival for the Oval Office Harris, who is ahead in some polls, said she was “deeply disturbed” by the latest event. “As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence,” she said.
“I am thankful that former president Trump is safe. I commend the Secret Service and law enforcement partners for their vigilance.”
In a statement given to the BBC, the Secret Service said it was “aware” of Musk’s post.
“As a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence,” the statement advised. “We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees.”
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