Elon Musk as soon as stated: “Trump could be 82 at finish of time period, which is simply too previous to be chief govt of something, not to mention america of America.”
Musk did say this on X in July 2022, but it surely was just one half of his submit. The second half learn: “If [Ron] DeSantis runs in opposition to Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will simply win – he doesn’t even have to marketing campaign.”
A declare that Tesla and X proprietor Elon Musk as soon as stated Trump could be “too previous” to be president by the top of a possible second time period resurfaced on-line in late October 2024 (archived).
As of this writing, the submit had amassed greater than 1.4 million views and 80,000 likes.
Nonetheless, this declare had cropped up on-line earlier than. In August 2024, the marketing campaign account of Vice President Kamala Harris — Trump’s opponent within the 2024 presidential election — posted a screenshot (archived) purportedly exhibiting certainly one of Musk’s previous posts simply because the X proprietor and former president prepared to chat on X Reside.
The Tesla founder’s alleged X submit learn: “Trump could be 82 at finish of time period, which is simply too previous to be chief govt of something, not to mention america of America.”
Harris’ marketing campaign seemed to be stating that this supposed submit contradicted Musk’s endorsement of the previous president. One month previous to their dwell chat, the billionaire introduced he backed Trump on the day the Republican nominee survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania (archived).
Musk did certainly submit the quote on July 12, 2022, which is why we rated this declare as being accurately attributed to the Tesla proprietor. Nonetheless, it required extra context.
The original post learn as follows (archived): “Trump could be 82 at finish of time period, which is simply too previous to be chief govt of something, not to mention america of America. If DeSantis runs in opposition to Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will simply win – he would not even have to marketing campaign.”
That very same day, Musk posted numerous arguments for not supporting Trump (archived and archived).
Snopes has regularly addressed social media posts about Musk and Trump within the build-up to the 2024 presidential election.
Sources
‘DeSantis Drops out of Presidential Race, Leaving Trump and Haley to Face off in New Hampshire’. AP Information, 21 Jan. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/ron-desantis-250c8ed4b49843350e258f0c2754c8ba.
Gibson, Brittany. ‘Trump’s Interview with Musk Devolves into but One other X Disaster’. Politico, 12 Aug. 2024, https://www.politico.com/information/2024/08/12/trump-musk-x-interview-problems-00173739.
Hardinges, Nick. ‘Elon Musk Agreed to Host Presidential Debate Between Biden, Trump and RFK Jr.?’ Snopes, 23 Might 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/musk-debate-biden-trump-rfk/.
‘Here is How Elon Musk Turned a Ron DeSantis Supporter’. Tampa Bay Instances, https://www.tampabay.com/information/florida-politics/2023/05/24/desantis-elon-musk-twitter-spaces-endorsement-president-2024/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.
Ibrahim, Nur. ‘Elon Musk Mentioned X Customers Who Use “Bizarre” to Describe Trump Supporters “Will Be Punished”?’ Snopes, 31 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/elon-musk-x-weird-trump-punished/.
Izzo, Jack. ‘Elon Musk Might Donate $45M Per Month to Trump Marketing campaign for 462 Years?’ Snopes, 22 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/elon-musk-45-million-trump/.
‘Ron DeSantis Will Launch His 2024 Bid on Twitter Areas with Elon Musk’. NBC Information, 23 Might 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-presidential-bid-campaign-elon-musk-rcna85288.
Trump Assassination Try Articles | Snopes.Com. https://www.snopes.com/tag/trump_assassination_attempt/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.
‘X.Com’. X (Previously Twitter), https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/standing/1823144316014911820. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.
