Elon Musk advertised a conversation with Donald Trump as an exciting convergence of two powerful stars, but technical issues and the former president’s meandering, at times incoherent performance ensured that the interview would instead provide two-hours’ worth of fodder for the Kamala Harris campaign. After a broadside of mockery on social media, including descriptions of his “slurring,” Trump is now blaming the setup for what he acknowledged was his “strange” voice.
“Unfortunately, because of the complexity of modern day equipment, and cellphone technology, my voice was, in certain areas, somewhat different and strange,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Therefore, we have put out an actual, and perfect, recording of the conversation. ENJOY!!!”
Trump’s X account shared an updated version of the interview, posted by Musk and described as having “higher quality” audio. The livestream was also marred by a 40-minute delay, with Musk blaming a distributed denial-of-service (DDos) cyber-attack and agreeing with an X user who suggested that the “Dems” were behind it; X employees later told The Verge that no such attack took place.
If the audio quality improved in the second recording, it retained Musk’s adoring tone and Trump’s many remarkable statements, including the former president suggesting that rising sea levels caused by climate change would give him more “oceanfront property” and comparing the “beautiful” Harris (whose name he routinely mispronounced) to his wife, Melania. Trump also said he would get rid of the Department of Education and congratulated Musk for firing striking workers.
It’s a change in tone from two years ago, when Trump called Musk a “bulls***t artist” at a 2022 rally and mocked him for “asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects” during a White House meeting. “I could have said, ‘drop to your knees and beg,’ and he would have done it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.