DON THE ATTACK
Trump warns US ‘won’t survive’ under Kamala Harris in Elon Musk chat that saw X Spaces crash in ‘massive DDOS attack’
Listen to the audio above of Trump and Musk's wide-ranging chat on X
DONALD Trump was quick to slam Kamala Harris in his interview with Elon Musk after a system crash meant thousands of X users were unable to listen in.
The live chat, which was due to start at 8 pm ET on Monday, started 40 minutes late after a "massive DDOS attack" hit Trump and Elon's X Spaces platform.
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Frantic X users reported blank screens and notifications which read, "Spaces is not available."
The issue quickly began trending as the chat was set to start, with "crashed" circulating on X among 28,000 users.
After a 20-minute struggle, Musk admitted: "There appears to be a massive DDOS attack on 𝕏. Working on shutting it down.
"Worst case, we will proceed with a smaller number of live listeners and post the conversation later."
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The audio-only chat - which lasted 2 hours - finally kicked off around 8.40 pm ET, with Trump wasting no time to lay into his Democratic rival, Vice President Harris.
"If we have her as a president, if we have a Democrat as a president I don't think we would survive," the former president blasted.
"She's a radical left lunatic. She is far worse than Bernie Sanders."
Trump added, "She's not a smart person by the way, she wouldn't have this kind of conversation."
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While discussing immigration in the US, Trump called Harris a "liar," saying she was meant to be the "border czar."
"She was in charge of the border, and the border is the worst ever," he said.
Elon Musk’s interview with Trump ‘crashes’ X Spaces as viewers struggle to connect and say pair ‘already broke internet’
"I saw an ad from Kamala saying she was going to provide border security....where has she been for three and a half years?"
Trump went on to warn that if he becomes president again, "We're going to have the largest deportation in our country."
Social media users were also quick to seize on Trump apparently having a "lisp" during the conversation.
It was rebuffed by his campaign, and some speculated the unusual speech pattern was down to an audio issue.
A spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign later issued a statement, calling the interview "unhinged."
They said: "Donald Trump's extremism and dangerous Project 2025 agenda is a feature not a glitch of his campaign, which was on full display for those unlucky enough to listen in tonight during whatever was on X.com."
"Trump’s entire campaign is in service of people like Elon Musk and himself — self-obsessed rich guys who will sell out the middle class and who cannot run a livestream in the year 2024."
After a shaky start, marred by tech chaos, the interview began with Musk asking about the attempt to assassinate Trump on July 13 at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"I knew immediately it was a bullet," Trump recalled.
"I knew immediately it was the ear. I also heard people shout bullet bullets, get down. We had bullets flying over my head.
"I wanted to let them know I was okay. The place went crazy."
The former president also said that if he didn't turn his head at the last moment, he wouldn't be around to speak to X owner Musk.
"As much as I like you, I would not be talking to you right now," he told the Tesla boss. "It's a miracle that it happened I am honored by it.
"We're going back to Butler."
Donald Trump and Elon Musk's complicated relationship
Former president Donald Trump and Telsla CEO Elon Musk's relationship started rocky, but the pair have since reconciled, with Musk fully endorsing Trump and interviewing him on X Spaces on August 12.
In 2022, Elon Musk and Donald Trump publically feuded on X, then still known as Twitter.
Trump called Musk a liar and "bulls**t artist" during a rally in Alaska.
"Elon is not going to buy Twitter," Trump said at the time.
"You know, he said the other day, 'I've never voted for a Republican.' I said, 'I didn't know that - you told me you voted for me. So he's another bulls**t artist, but he's not going to be buying it."
In response to Trump's critiques, the SpaceX founder clapped back.
"I don't hate the man, but it's time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset," Musk posted.
Musk also went on to buy X months later.
The X owner said he had previously voted mostly for Democrats since becoming a United States citizen in 2002.
However, when the 2024 election rolled around, he endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump's rival.
"My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist," Musk wrote on X in 2022.
"I had hoped that would [be] the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far."
His shift in political parties might be attributed to his plummeting relationship with President Joe Biden who didn't invite Musk to the 2021 White House electric vehicle summit.
Despite their past issues, Trump and Musk's relationship took a turn in March after they met at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump was also previously against electric vehicles but has since changed his stance.
"I’m for electric cars," he said at a rally earlier this month.
"I have to be, because Elon endorsed me very strongly. So I have no choice."
Following the assassination attempt at Trump's rally in July, Musk announced his support for the former president.
"I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery," Musk wrote on X after the shooting.
During a recent press conference, Trump spoke highly of Musk.
"I respect Elon a lot. He respects me," he said.
"Elon, more than almost anybody I know, he loves this country. He loves the concept of this country, but like me, he says this country is in big trouble, it’s in tremendous danger."
The conversation later shifted to Biden, the country's crime rate, and Trump's connection to other world leaders.
He called his successor "the worst president in history," before saying he "got along well" with Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin.
"I know Putin, I know Kim Jong Un of North Korea," Trump said.
"I'm not saying anything good or bad, they are at the top of their game. They've got to protect their country.
"These are tough people at the top of their game - when they see Kamala or sleepy Joe, they can't believe it."
Musk noted that leaders like Kim Jong Un respond to strength, a sentiment Trump agreed with.
Trump also recalled telling Kim Jon Un that he had a "much bigger red button" than him when the pair were in power at the same time, but warned the North Korean leader has "got a lot of nuclear stuff."
"We were not in danger with him because of me," Trump said. "I always say we have enemies on the outside and enemies on the inside.
"We have some really bad people in our government...they're more dangerous than Russia and China."
During the lengthy chat, Trump made sure to speak about issues in our economy, with Musk hinting at a possible collaboration between the two.
He insisted what is really making [Americans] angry is "what Kamala and Biden have allowed to happen to the economy... it's the inflation."
He went on to recommend starting a government efficiency panel to check the government is spending its money wisely.
Elon Musk Twitter buy timeline
Elon Musk bought the social media app citing altruistic reasonings for his aquisition.
April 2022: Negotiations for Musk to purchase Twitter began.
October 27, 2022: Musk finalized his purchase of X and began his rebranding efforts.
November 1, 2022: Twitter boars is dissolved, making Musk the "sole director" of the site.
July 23, 2023: Musk announces icon rebranding and X users point out the switch. "And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds," .
July 24, 2023: the reason for the rebranding. "The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video," he said.
Musk jumped on the idea saying he would be eager to assist on such a panel.
"You're an interesting character," Trump said after embracing Musk's help.
The former president cited the rising grocery prices as a hallmark of the impact of inflation.
"We had the best economy, ever, maybe, in the world, but then COVID came...I never got the credit I deserved," Trump said about the economy during his presidency.
"Had [COVID] not happened, I was going to start reducing debt...for middle-income people, not just businesses.";
Musk brought up environmental issues and climate change, another topic Trump has had controversial opinions on.
The Tesla CEO said he doesn't believe the oil and gas industry should be vilified, but more action should be taken to care about the environment.
SLOW START
It came after Musk blamed the chat's delayed start time on a "massive" but unconfirmed cyber attack, or "DDOS."
Distributed denial of service (DDOS) is a cyberattack in which hackers flood a server with internet traffic to prevent users from accessing connected online services and sites, per .
After claiming X was victim to the attack, Musk insisted in a post that his livestream server was tested with 8 million listeners earlier in the day.
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"We tested the system with 8 million concurrent listeners earlier today," the Tesla CEO wrote.
He also addressed the attacks early on in the conversation with Trump, using it as a testament to the candidate's power.
On Sunday, Musk had posted about the exclusive unscripted interview.
"This is unscripted with no limits on subject matter, so should be highly entertaining!" Musk on X.
He asked users to comment specific questions and comments under the post for Trump to answer.
Musk later an image promoting the conversation with the pair writing, "Entertainment guaranteed!"
ELON'S ENDORSEMENT
Their conversation comes after the SpaceX founder endorsed Trump in the 2024 election after an attempted assassination at his Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet shot by gunman Thomas Crooks, who was later shot dead by the Secret Service.
Bullets from Crook's gun also killed an attendee and left two others severely injured.
Though the pair have had a rocky relationship, Musk shared who he would be supporting this election on X after the shooting.
"I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery," Musk .
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During the interview, Musk said he was always "moderate or slightly left" but has chosen to support Trump due to the state of the country.
Trump praised Musk in a press conference last Thursday.
"I respect Elon a lot. He respects me," he said.
"Elon, more than almost anybody I know… he loves this country.
"He loves the concept of this country, but like me, he says this country is in big trouble, it’s in tremendous danger."
QUESTIONS FOR TRUMP
Musk's Sunday posts amassed thousands of comments, many being questions for Trump to address during their conversation.
"President Trump, how will you finish the wall in the next 4 years?" one user asked.
The user asked a list of questions, another included, "President Trump, what do you think is the most hurtful thing Kamala has done to the country & how would you end that destructive policy/outcome?"
"Will you commit to protecting free speech for Americans on internet platforms like X and others, and what immediate actions would you take to uphold this commitment?" a second commenter asked.
"Can Donald Trump tell us more about his peace plan for Ukraine?" questioned another.
"How specifically will you bring down inflation?"; asked a user.
A user also said they wanted the billionaire to ask Trump, "about implementing term limit for people in Congress."
"Who would Donal Trump support for the Republican nomination if he weren't running? Who should the standard bearer for the party be once Trump leaves politics behind?" a commenter wrote.
RETURN TO X
Trump previously used X to speak his mind and promote his agenda, but he was suspended from the platform, known as Twitter at the time, after his supporters stormed the capital on January 6, 2021.
However, once Musk purchased the platform a month later, he restored Trump's account.
Trump now posts frequently to his social media platform Truth Social.
The last time Trump posted to his account was in 2023 and it was a picture of his viral mugshot.
Before that, he had not posted since 2021.
Due to the upcoming conversation on his X profile, the former president returned to the platform with a few promotional posts.
On Monday, he posted for the first time in almost a year , "Are you better off now than you were when I was president? Our economy is shattered. Our border has been erased. We're a nation in decline. Make the American Dream AFFORDABLE again. Make America SAFE again. Make America GREAT Again!"
He also an image promoting his conversation with Musk on Monday night writing, "Enjoy!"
Trump posted a handful of other posts leading users to believe he may be more active on the platform in the future.
He has also placed ads all over the platform with promotions for his 2024 campaign.
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Under the event on X titled Trump & Elon Tonight, a description of the interview , "President Trump will address the nation tonight with Elon Musk at 8 pm Eastern on X. It will be the interview of the century.
"Kamala won’t answer questions. She’s afraid to hold any interviews, but tonight, President Trump will lay out his plan to Make America Great Again."
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