Shortly after reports of an apparent second assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the former US president and Republican presidential candidate for 2024, Elon Musk I decided to speak.
“And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala 🤔,” Musk, the owner of X, wrote in a Post now deletedin response to someone else who asked, “Why do they want to kill Donald Trump?”
After deleting the post, which could be interpreted as a call to assassinate President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the US presidential election, Musk said it was simply a joke that made no sense given the context. “Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be as funny as a Facebook post,” he said. wrote, adding“It turns out that jokes are MUCH less funny if people don’t know the context and the text is simple.”
The incident was the latest in a long series of increasingly incendiary political posts from Musk, whose substantial defense contracts Relations with the U.S. government can give him access to highly sensitive information, even as he issues potential threats against the sitting commander in chief. And they point to the most pressing risk Musk’s recent rhetoric has posed: the possibility of inspiring further political violence.
While Sunday night’s post is now gone, it seems likely that Musk could receive some attention from federal law enforcement, if he hasn’t already.
The US Secret Service declined WIRED’s request for comment on Musk’s post. “However, we can say that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees,” USSS spokesperson Nate Herring told WIRED.
“In my experience, the Secret Service would take a comment like that very seriously,” says Michael German, a former FBI special agent and fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law who specializes in liberty and national security. “Typically, agents would go out and interview the subject to make sure there was no threat and to let them know that the agency takes such statements seriously.”
German notes that the FBI may also launch an investigation. However, Musk is unlikely to face charges for his post. “On its face, the tweet would not meet the ‘actual threat’ test, as it was not a direct threat to harm the vice president, so it would likely not be prosecuted,” German says. Still, “it would create a record of investigations.”
The FBI declined WIRED’s request for comment on Musk’s post. X did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
Both Biden and Harris have issued statements condemning the apparent assassination attempt on Trump and political violence in general. Statement to ABC NewsThe White House condemned Musk’s post. “Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about,” the statement said. “This rhetoric is irresponsible.”
The situation is further complicated for Musk in his role as a prime contractor for the US Department of Defense and NASA. According to ReutersSpaceX signed a $1.8 billion contract in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office, which oversees U.S. spy satellites. The U.S. Space Force also signed a $70 million contract Late last year, SpaceX entered into a partnership to develop military-grade low-orbit satellite capabilities. Starlink, SpaceX’s commercial satellite internet division, is providing connectivity to the U.S. Navy.