Former President Donald Trump was mocked after totally flubbing billionaire Elon Musk's name at a rally—a gaffe so ridiculous that people on X, which Musk owns, quickly pounced.
You'd think, given how closely Trump and Musk are aligned, that Trump would actually get Musk's name right. But that's not what happened during a campaign rally in Wisconsin.
Trump referred to Musk as "Leon" in the following word salad remarks:
"Boeing had a little hard time as you heard, so they're going to save—Leon's going to send up a rocket. He looks forward to it. That's all he thinks about is things like that."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
X users wasted no time, quickly mocking Trump's latest gaffe.
Musk has thrown his support behind Trump in this election, reportedly pledging $45 million a month to Trump's campaign—a pledge he later denied. He now claims to be directing his funds into his own pro-Trump political action committee, AmericaPAC.
America PAC has already received support from some of Musk’s friends and allies in the tech industry, according to the New York Times. This includes Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of the software company Palantir alongside Peter Thiel, a significant political donor to Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Trump and Musk have discussed a potential advisory role for him in the event Trump returns to the White House. Trump and Musk have also reportedly explored ways to grant Musk formal input and influence over border security and economic policies, areas where Musk has recently been more outspoken.
A few days ago, Trump announced that if elected president, he would appoint Musk to lead a government efficiency commission with broad authority. This role could give Musk significant influence over regulations impacting corporate America, including industries where his own companies operate.
As expected, Trump did not provide solid details about how this commission would work, only saying it would carry out audits and make recommendations.
@LeeMerrittesq/X
@bob_moss/X
@jelanijones/Bluesky
@Aurkayne/X
@sadcommunistdog; @froglok/Bluesky