It was the social media event of the year. On August 12, the X online platform (nee Twitter) livestreamed a conversation between Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump. This wasn't an interview as, perhaps, many people were expecting because Musk – despite his brilliance in other fields – is no interviewer. This was much more like an informal chat that, nevertheless, touched on some extremely serious Issues affecting the United States, particularly with a presidential election just over the horizon.
Perhaps the biggest news to come out of this event - aside from the fact that Donald Trump is now back on the platform - is the staggering hubris of Thierry Breton, a commissioner of the European Union. In what can reasonably be described as a blatant attempt to influence the upcoming election, Breton penned a letter to Elon Musk, threatening him with legal or regulatory action should the EU disapprove of the content of his conversation with Trump. This communique represents a textbook example of the creeping authoritarian political doctrine growing in Europe.
At this point, it is hardly a secret that Elon Musk has endorsed Trump's 2024 White House bid, but the entrepreneur and world's richest man pointed out that he is hardly a right-wing extremist or MAGA devotee. He described himself as a moderate with Democrat leanings who is concerned by the Democratic Party’s rapid shift towards the extreme left. Trump and Musk agreed that, while there was still time to save the American dream, four more years of Democrat control of the White House – especially by a possible Kamala Harris administration that they suggest would cleave even more radically left than the Biden administration – would put the restoration of America beyond reach.
The conversation meandered back and forth through several key issues, such as immigration, law and order, the economy, and foreign relations. It is almost inevitable that the left-leaning establishment media, along with a multitude of political pundits, Trump detractors, and left-wing activists, will hammer Elon Musk for not hitting the former president with a barrage of hardball questions. In doing so, they will ignore the fact that this was never the multibillionaire’s intention. Trump gets a lot of press, and most of it is hostile. Apart from the ratings opportunity, Musk, it seems, merely wanted to give Trump the chance to argue his case in a somewhat informal setting. For all anybody knows, he might have been willing to extend the same opportunity to Kamala Harris. Trump suggested, however, that she would not have been up to the task.
Elon Musk and Trump: Similar but Different
Although this long conversation was a civil exchange conducted in a friendly tone, it wasn't hard to detect that the two men had somewhat divergent views on a couple of subjects. Musk made it clear that he did not view all illegal aliens as bad people. He also expressed the desire that America start moving toward cleaner and more renewable forms of energy while not demonizing the fossil fuel industry, which, for the foreseeable future, is vital to both the US and global economy.
Despite media distortions of his words, Trump also has never said that he views all illegal immigrants as bad and rather that he wants the good ones to enter the country by following the correct procedures. Nevertheless, when speaking of illegal immigration, Trump does focus on the idea that a disproportionately large number of people entering the US illegally from all parts of the world are not exactly the best and brightest and most morally upstanding types that these other countries have to offer.
Elon Musk pressed Trump on the urgent need to curb government spending. He suggested the establishment of a “government efficiency commission” that would monitor where US taxpayers’ money was going. Musk also dropped some obvious hints that he would be interested in playing some kind of role on this commission, and Trump appeared to be open to that idea.
As interesting as it was to hear the two men exchange views, reflect on the past, and speculate about the nation's future, no political bombshells were dropped during this conversation. It is entirely likely that a whole battalion of left-wing journalists eagerly tuning in were disappointed that Trump made no observations about his 2024 opponent’s ethnicity or skin color. Elon Musk let Trump do most of the talking, and the former president did not really say much that wasn't to be expected.
Still, for all those who are willing to keep an open mind about politics, there is an important lesson to be learned from this livestreamed event. By his own admission, one of these men has a left-of-center worldview, and the other – despite having occupied the White House as a Republican president – historically supported and donated money to the Democratic Party. Yet today, both are often described as right-wing extremists. That fact in itself shows how far left the political establishment and the so-called mainstream media have drifted – and how far from the founding principles of the country they have wandered.
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