Billionaire Elon Musk was called out for an assassination "joke" he made about President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris following an alleged second attempt on former President Donald Trump's life.
Trump was the target of what the FBI described as "an apparent assassination attempt" at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after surviving a previous attempt on his life. The FBI has taken a suspect into custody.
Shortly after the news broke, Musk said the following in a now-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter:
"And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala."
You can see his post below.
@elonmusk/X
Musk initially resisted multiple calls to delete the post on Sunday night. In response to a request to remove his remarks, he doubled down in a follow-up post:
"No one has even tried to do so is the point I’m making and no one will."
You can see his post below.
But Musk was eventually persuaded and while he did remove the post, its contents attracted the attention of the White House, which condemned his words in a statement via White House spokesperson Andrew Bates:
“As President Biden and Vice President Harris said after yesterday’s disturbing news, ‘there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,’ and ‘we all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence. Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about.”
Musk has been harshly criticized.
It was unclear how this second attempt on Trump's life would impact his schedule or campaign dynamics.
Trump had been scheduled to speak about cryptocurrency live from Florida on Monday night via X, with additional stops planned for Tuesday and Wednesday in Michigan and Long Island, New York.
Both Biden and Harris were briefed on the situation and issued statements condemning political violence. Harris expressed that she was "deeply disturbed" by the day's events and emphasized the need for everyone to play a role in preventing further violence.
Biden stated that he had directed his team to ensure the Secret Service "has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.”
Notably, reporters were not with Trump on Sunday, as his campaign has not arranged for a protective pool of journalists to travel with him—a standard practice for major party nominees and the president. While Harris doesn’t have a protective pool at all times, she allows reporters to accompany her for public events.
Keith Pedersen/Facebook