Donald Trump made a statement on Sunday that many critics interpreted as exhibiting his weakness.
President-elect Donald Trump used a speech to MAGA supporters to strongly push back on claims that billionaire Elon Musk had effectively taken over his presidency. While speaking to Turning Point USA's AmFest conference attendees on Sunday, Trump argued that "big companies" wanted him to cut regulations more than slashing taxes.
"But no, he's not going to be president that I can tell you," Trump also insisted. "And I'm safe. You know why? He can't be. He wasn’t born in this country."
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This comment went viral, with Scott Dworkin, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Democratic Coalition, saying, "This confirms that Musk is the President-Elect."
Popular satire account Mrs. Betty Bowers replied with, "This is great for two reasons: (1) it shows that all this President Musk talk is getting under Donald’s notoriously thin skin; and (2) it has to be very insulting to JD Vance."
Artist Art Candee said, "President-elect Musk is running the country."
Obama appointee Eric Columbus said, "The last guy Trump claimed wasn’t born in this country was president for eight years."
A group of current and former Republicans who oppose Trump, The Lincoln Project, said, "No previous president-elect in history has ever had to say this."
"He's weak," the group added.