Elon Musk Promises 'Entertaining' Interview With Donald Trump

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, is scheduled to interview Donald Trump live on his X network Monday night, and has promised a moment & “very entertaining” with the former president, whom he openly supports in the race for the White House.

The interview should seek to relaunch the Republican candidate's campaign, which has been struggling since Kamala Harris entered the race on the Democratic side.

But the exercise, between two men accustomed to outrageous and controversial statements, will also be risky, on a platform accused of having become a mouthpiece for the radical right and lax in the face of disinformation.

A few hours before the interview, Brussels warned Elon Musk: the European Commissioner for Digital Affairs Thierry Breton sent him a letter to remind him of his moderation obligations.

Previous similar interviews had also turned into fiascos, like the entry into the campaign of the former Republican candidate Ron DeSantis, announced on X in the presence of Elon Musk, but which had encountered technical problems.

On Monday, the interview with the former president will be carried out “without a predetermined script, without limits on the subjects covered and should be very entertaining!”, wrote Mr. Musk, who bought Twitter in 2022, before renaming it X.

The conversation between the two billionaires is to be broadcast at 8:00 p.m. US East Coast Time (00:00 GMT) on Donald Trump's account, which was suspended after the attack from the Capitol by his supporters, but restored after the takeover of Elon Musk.

Since then, this account — favorite communication channel of the former White House host during his mandate — had only posted one new publication: his police ID photo.

But a burst of messages published Monday morning, between campaign videos and promotion of the interview, did seem to signal his return.

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– “He respects me” –

Last month, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX officially supported the Republican candidate, just after the assassination attempt against the latter.

Mr. Musk regularly attacks Democrats on has not always been a fervent defender of Donald Trump, with whom he even clashed publicly. But the two men have continued to grow closer in recent months.

They met in March and have since spoken regularly on the phone, according to the Wall Street Journal. An advisory role for the tech mogul would even be under discussion if the former president regains the keys to the White House.

Elon Musk recently denied that he was planning to donate tens of millions of dollars a month to the former president's campaign, as the press had reported. He spoke of levels that were “much lower.”

“I have great respect for Elon Musk, and he has great respect for me,” Donald Trump said at a press conference last week. “Like me, he believes that this country is in great trouble and in great danger.”

– Different audience –

Last week, Donald Trump had already tried to reach a different audience by giving an interview to a controversial influencer, Adin Ross, who is also committed to his cause and popular like Elon Musk with young men.

The former president will be in North Carolina on Wednesday to talk about the economy, then in Pennsylvania for a rally on Saturday. However, his campaign has been struggling since Joe Biden's shock withdrawal of his candidacy.

While the 78-year-old Republican seemed to be in a good position against the 81-year-old president, Kamala Harris' candidacy has sparked a wave of enthusiasm, which is reflected in the polls.

The woman who wants to become the first female president of the United States toured key states last week. Her schedule is much lighter this week, with only one trip so far on the theme of the cost of living, with Joe Biden on Thursday near Washington.

Next big event: the Democratic Party convention next week in Chicago, gathered around the “ticket” formed by the 59-year-old candidate and her new running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

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