Donald Trump sat down with Elon Musk for a conversation. One that has had many in the U.S. and around the world clutching pearls.

Many so-called journalists couldn’t help themselves. They want fact-checkers available ASAP! 

Axios’ @sarafischer: “@elonmusk will let Donald Trump speak all of the falsehoods & misinformation that he wants. I mean, he’s not a journalist … Does he want to be fact checking all the information? So I think it‘s just a platform for Trump to come out say whatever he wants.” pic.twitter.com/13w1MVzzGD

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 12, 2024

How DARE he  use his Constitutional right to FREE SPEECH and say things you don’t want to hear??!!

A lot of the media is speculating as to what the topics of discussion will be. Politico has a few ideas. Ahead of the interview, Trump’s X account has had several new posts. Here’s one example. 

https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/sVyrCxHqdt

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2024

What is notable about all of them is each post is very scripted and in full campaign mode. Which leads me to believe the Trump campaign is very involved in curating what is and isn’t posted. But again, the media is just certain his return to X and this interview will be full of misinformation. 

It’s unclear whether or how much Trump will continue using Musk’s platform, but in a campaign email Monday, the former president stated: “I’m back on X for a short time.” A permanent return to the platform by Trump would be a major win for Musk, who has begun to more actively court a right-wing audience to his platform.

~Snip

Trump’s posts came hours before he is scheduled to join an interview with Musk streamed on X, which the entrepreneur said would be “unscripted with no limits on subject matter.” No leader of a major social media site has actively used their platform to support a presidential candidate, an unprecedented dynamic that has raised alarm among some Democrats, who have accused Musk of tilting X in favor of the former president.

The Washington Post, in all their infinite wisdom, did a deep dive into what Elon Musk tweets and how much of it is or isn’t “far right.” 

Nearly three years later, with Musk at the helm of the site he renamed X, the billionaire’s feed often reads more like a right-wing activist account, with alarmist posts about immigration and missives against “woke” ideology. He still posts frequently about Tesla, but the share of his posts about the company is less than half of what it was in November 2021. This year, political tweets made up 17 percent of his feed, an analysis by The Washington Post found — skyrocketing up from 2 percent in 2021.

Gosh, one would think that a measly 17% is a YUUUGE number. C’mon guys. 17%. REALLY? Oh wait, these are the same folks who are of the firm mindset that Trump and Elon are doing nothing but peddle misinformation to the deplorable masses and literally asked the White House if they could shut the whole thing down. 

The Washington Post’s Cleve Wootson: “One more, @ElonMusk is slated to interview [@realDonaldTrump] tomorrow — tonight on — on @X. I don't know if the president is going to — feel free to say if he is or not — but I — I think that misinformation on Twitter is not just a campaign… pic.twitter.com/zKxJNF1zbf

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 12, 2024

Meanwhile, the EU decided to threaten Elon Musk if he moves forward with the interview. Needless to say, the EU’s attempt to stifle American’s right to free speech and meddle in this election is NOT going over very well.

So, what did they actually discuss during the interview? Once it got rolling after a massive DDOS hit on the platform, it got interesting. 

For one, listening to him describe the assassination attempt was quite intriguing. He spoke highly of the agents protecting him as well as the sniper who took out the shooter. Yet he also pointed out there were failures and lessons to be learned. And also pointed to his turning to the illegal immigration poster he had planned to use as why he’s here today. “Illegal immigration saved my life.” A joke yes, but truth. 

Regarding the subject of illegal immigration, what he had planned to point out is that ILLEGAL immigration was at its lowest point prior to Joe taking office. And then Joe & Kamala just opened the floodgates and here we are. 

Whether Kamala likes it or not, she was put in charge of the border. Trump and Elon point out that this is a security issue for us all. Especially when one considers the criminal element among them as well as those who won’t work, but will take our tax dollars to live on. 

Trump points out that Kamala stole his tax on tips idea and, rightfully so, calls out the IRS on this. 

It’s a scam. That’s how Trump describes Joe being forced out and Kamala dropped in as candidate for President. Elon then points out that, in terms of global security, a strong leader is needed. A lot of people are going to go nuts over Trump saying he had a relationship with Putin. Did no one ever think that it was a relationship built on keeping your enemies close?? 

Trump correctly pointed out that he shut down the Nordstream pipeline and had the Keystone XL pipeline in progress to build our energy and national security. Yet Joe did the very opposite his first month in office, which helped Russia, not the U.S. 

There’s a great deal to be gleaned from this conversation. What will be instructive tomorrow and over the next few days/weeks/years, is how the media responds to this conversation, and what kind of gaslighting misinformation THEY will be peddling to protect their preferred narrative. 

Feature Photo Credit: Photo via Trump X feed, cropped and modified