Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), also the vice president-elect, is missing in action, according to Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser, John Bolton.
Bolton, who has been critical of Trump, including the president-elect's election fraud conspiracy theories, appeared on CNN on Saturday to discuss Trump's recent actions on the world stage.
The host asked Bolton about the presence of Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, at many of Trump's events with foreign world leaders.
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"I just want to ask you about another person that's there with Trump in France, and that's Elon Musk, who we've seen, of course, by his side on the campaign trail and now in the transition, but also increasingly in the middle of a lot of these conversations with foreign leaders and in the conversations about foreign conflicts?" the host asked. "What do you make of that?"
"Bolton replied, "Well, you know, it's almost like Musk has become vice president."
"I don't know where J.D. Vance is on this trip, but Elon Musk, to this point, remains a private citizen and he has no governmental authority," he added. "He may have extraordinary influence over Donald Trump, but the rubber meets the road at noon on the 20th of January. Musk is going to have to decide which way to jump and and at that point, I think people will have to make a judgment whether there is undue influence or anything else. But right now, look, these people are private citizens. Let's keep that in mind."