DOUBLE TAKE
Trump says Kamala Harris was made to look like ‘beautiful’ wife Melania in chaotic X interview with Elon Musk
Trump also mispronounced Harris' name numerous times throughout the interview
DONALD Trump left listeners confused after he made a bizarre comment about Kamala Harris' Time Magazine front cover.
Trump said the image of the Vice President resembled his wife, former First Lady Melania.
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During a chaotic interview with Elon Musk yesterday on X, Trump explained that Harris' face looked familiar.
"She looked very much like our great first lady, Melania," Trump said.
As well as making this odd comparison, Trump also appeared to mispronounce Kamala Harris' name numerous times.
At points, it sounded like he was saying "Camilla."
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It comes as:
- The Donald Trump and Elon Musk interview on X faced technical difficulties and started 40 minutes late.
- Musk claimed that the technical difficulties were a result of a cyberattack.
- Trump warned that the US would not survive with Kamala Harris as president.
- A social media expert said that the relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk is a "marriage of convenience."
- Trump confused listeners by appearing to have a lisp when speaking in the interview.
- The newfound alliance between Trump and Musk was formed last month - Musk endorsed the Republican nominee after he survived an assassination attempt.
"She didn't look like Camilla but of course, she's a beautiful woman, so we'll leave it at that," Trump said, speaking about the cover.
Kamala's Harris' campaign today responded to the bizarre interview.
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"Trump's entire campaign is in service of people like Elon Musk and himself - self-obsessed rich guys who sell out the middle class and who cannot run a livestream in the year 2024," Harris campaign spokesperson Joseph Costello told The Hollywood Reporter.
He said that Trump's "dangerous Project 2025 agenda" is a feature, not a glitch of his campaign.
This was "on full display for those unlucky enough to listen in tonight during whatever that was on X.com," Costello added.
Trump also baffled listeners by appearing to speak with a lisp during the interview.
"Who gave President Trump the lisp microphone?" one X user asked.
"Did Trump develop a lisp overnight?" another asked.
"It's probably due to audio compression issues but Trump sounds like he has a lisp," a third user suggested.
The cover of the magazine featured a black and white illustration of Harris, accompanied by the caption, "Her Moment."
Speaking about this image, Trump claimed that Harris had been presented as if she were "the most beautiful actress ever to live."
Trump spared no time in criticizing the vice president during the interview.
"She's a radical left lunatic. She is far worse than Bernie Sanders," he declared.
Trump's interview with Musk faced a number of issues last night.
It began about 40 minutes behind schedule after users had trouble gaining access to the live stream.
The discussion was meant to begin at 8 pm.
Donald Trump's 'unscripted' interview with Elon Musk finally gets underway after 'crashing X Spaces' in chaotic build up
Musk claimed that X had been the victim of a cyberattack.
He argued that this was the reason the interview didn't load initially.
"There appears to be a massive DDOS [Disturbed Denial of Service] attack on X. Working on shutting it down," the Tesla CEO wrote.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk's complicated relationship
Former president Donald Trump and Telsla CEO Elon Musk's relationship started rocky, but the pair have since reconciled, with Musk fully endorsing Trump and interviewing him on X Spaces on August 12.
In 2022, Elon Musk and Donald Trump publically feuded on X, then still known as Twitter.
Trump called Musk a liar and "bulls**t artist" during a rally in Alaska.
"Elon is not going to buy Twitter," Trump said at the time.
"You know, he said the other day, 'I've never voted for a Republican.' I said, 'I didn't know that - you told me you voted for me. So he's another bulls**t artist, but he's not going to be buying it."
In response to Trump's critiques, the SpaceX founder clapped back.
"I don't hate the man, but it's time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset," Musk posted.
Musk also went on to buy X months later.
The X owner said he had previously voted mostly for Democrats since becoming a United States citizen in 2002.
However, when the 2024 election rolled around, he endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump's rival.
"My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist," Musk wrote on X in 2022.
"I had hoped that would [be] the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far."
His shift in political parties might be attributed to his plummeting relationship with President Joe Biden who didn't invite Musk to the 2021 White House electric vehicle summit.
Despite their past issues, Trump and Musk's relationship took a turn in March after they met at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump was also previously against electric vehicles but has since changed his stance.
"I’m for electric cars," he said at a rally earlier this month.
"I have to be, because Elon endorsed me very strongly. So I have no choice."
Following the assassination attempt at Trump's rally in July, Musk announced his support for the former president.
"I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery," Musk wrote on X after the shooting.
During a recent press conference, Trump spoke highly of Musk.
"I respect Elon a lot. He respects me," he said.
"Elon, more than almost anybody I know, he loves this country. He loves the concept of this country, but like me, he says this country is in big trouble, it’s in tremendous danger."
"Worst case, we will proceed with a smaller number of live listeners and post the conversation later," he said.
He explained that they had previously tested the system with "8 million concurrent listeners" earlier in the day and it had worked.
"The Trump and Elon Musk interview has already broken the internet," one user said on X.
"Too many people want to watch it."
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES
Users were met with loud music as they attempted to listen in to Trump's interview with Musk.
The music eventually stopped but it was replaced by a ruffling sound.
Some users compared the interview to a similar situation Ron DeSantis previously faced on the platform.
"The Trump interview with Elon is going exactly the same way it did for Ron DeSantis. Technical difficulties," one user said.
The Florida governor had been expected to make an announcement in May 2023 about his plans for the next four years.
But the interview crashed X Spaces as hundreds of thousands of users flocked to listen.
When the interview did eventually get underway, Trump and Musk discussed a wide range of topics.
Elon Musk Twitter buy timeline
Elon Musk bought the social media app citing altruistic reasonings for his aquisition.
April 2022: Negotiations for Musk to purchase Twitter began.
October 27, 2022: Musk finalized his purchase of X and began his rebranding efforts.
November 1, 2022: Twitter boars is dissolved, making Musk the "sole director" of the site.
July 23, 2023: Musk announces icon rebranding and X users point out the switch. "And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds," he wrote.
July 24, 2023: Musk revealed the reason for the rebranding. "The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video," he said.
WHAT WAS DISCUSSED
These included anecdotes from Trump about his interactions with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I'm not saying anything good or bad, they are at the top of their game. They've got to protect their country," Trump said.
"These are tough people at the top of their game - when they see Kamala or sleepy Joe, they can't believe it."
They also spoke about the US-Mexico border and, of course, Kamala Harris.
The audio-only chat lasted for two hours and Trump wasted no time laying into his Democratic rival.
"If we have her as a president, if we have a Democrat as a president I don't think we would survive," the former president declared.
Points of Discussion
The interview between Donald Trump and Elon Musk on X touched on a wide range of topics last night:
Immigration and border control
- Trump criticized Kamala's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. "She was in charge of the border, and the border is the worst ever," Trump said.
- "I saw an ad from Kamala saying she was going to provide border security... where has she been for three and a half years?" Trump added.
His assassination attempt
- "I knew immediately it was a bullet," he told Musk.
- "I wanted to let them know I was okay. The place went crazy," he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
- According to Trump, Kim Jong Un had a "much bigger red button" than him when the pair were both in power.
- He warned that the leader has "got a lot of nuclear stuff."
- "We're not in danger with him because of me," Trump said.
Criticism of the Democrats
- Trump called Biden "the worst President in History."
- He argued that the actions of Biden and Harris have angered Americans. "What Kamala and Biden have allowed to happen to the economy... it's the inflation."
COVID
- "We had the best economy, ever, maybe, in the world, but then COVID came... I never got the credit I deserved," Trump said.
- "Had COVID not happened, I was going to start reducing debt... for middle-income people, not just businesses."
ELON'S ENDORSEMENT
Musk announced the interview on X on Sunday, explaining that the discussion would be unscripted.
The Tesla CEO gave users the opportunity to have their voices heard as he allowed them to comment in with any questions they had.
This interview comes after the SpaceX founder endorsed Trump last month after his assassination attempt.
Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet on July 13 by gunman Thomas Crooks at a Pennsylvania rally.
Crooks was later shot dead by the Secret Service but not before he had killed an attendee and seriously injured two others.
Musk expressed his support for Trump after the incident.
"I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery," he wrote.
THE DUO'S RELATIONSHIP
Social media consultant Matt Navarra spoke to The U.S. Sun about the relationship between Trump and Musk.
He called it a "marriage of convenience."
"I think Trump needs the audience and engagement that X can provide from the distribution and reach that X gives him," Navarra said.
"And I think that Musk wants to make sure he aligns himself with the potential winning candidate for the upcoming presidential election."
Musk promoted the interview by declaring on X, "Entertainment guaranteed!"
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According to Navarra, it is likely that Musk wanted the social media event to make headlines - and that is exactly what it has done.
"But in terms of the future of X and Elon Musk and Trump, I think the person that's most gonna benefit from this interview is gonna be Trump from the reach that the platform has and the engagement and headlines it will create for Donald Trump," Navarra said.
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