Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Donald Trump Is Returning to X for a Live Interview With the Platform's Owner, Elon Musk
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 months ago on
August 12, 2024

Trump set for live interview on X with Elon Musk, marking his return to the platform after a two-year ban. (AP Photo)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump is returning — at least for one night — to do a live interview Monday on X, the platform from which he was banned for nearly two years following the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Trump and Elon Musk, X’s owner, are slated to have what the tech titan has termed a “live conversation” at 8 p.m. Eastern Time that will be “unscripted with no limits on subject matter, so should be highly entertaining!” Musk is soliciting X users to pose their own questions.

A Platform for Political Discourse

The conversation serves not only as a way for the former president to reach potentially millions of voters directly. It’s also an opportunity for X, a platform that relies heavily on politics, to redeem itself after some struggles.

X has already been the scene of some of the 2024 cycle’s most memorable moments. As he skipped the first GOP presidential debate in August, Trump launched counterprogramming of his own, appearing in a taped interview with former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson, which aired on X. Last month, President Joe Biden broke the news of his departure from the campaign in a letter posted to the platform.

Also notably, in May 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used the platform as a way to officially announce his presidential bid, a disastrous rollout marred by technical glitches, overloaded by the more than 400,000 people who tried to dial in.

Musk’s Political Leanings

Ahead of his conversation with Trump, Musk posted on the platform that X was conducting “some system scaling tests” to handle what’s anticipated to be a high volume of participants.

Musk, who has described himself as a Democrat until a few years ago, endorsed Trump’s candidacy two days after the former president was wounded during an attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally last month.

Long before he endorsed Trump, Musk turned increasingly toward the right in his posts and actions on the platform, also using X to try to sway political discourse around the world. He’s gotten in a dustup with a Brazilian judge over censorship, railed against what he calls the “woke mind virus” and amplified false claims that Democrats are secretly flying in migrants to vote in U.S. elections.

Trump’s Return to X

Musk has also reinstated previously banned accounts such as the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Trump, who was kicked off the platform — then known as Twitter — two days after the Jan. 6 violence, with the company citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.” By November 2022, Musk had bought the company, and Trump’s account was reinstated, although the former president refrained from tweeting until Monday, insisting that he was happier on his own Truth Social site, which he launched during the ban.

Hours ahead of his interview with Musk, Trump posted a two-and-a-half minute video to his X account, featuring video from his time in office, as well as audio of him saying one of his standard campaign lines referencing the legal cases that have mounted against him: “They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you, and I just happen to be standing in their way, and I will never be moving.”

But Trump’s audience on X is legions larger than on Truth Social, which became a publicly traded company earlier this year. Trump has just over 7.5 million followers on Truth Social, while his mostly dormant X account is followed by 88 million. Musk’s account, which will host the interview, has more than 193 million followers.

Trump’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a message as to whether he would cross-post his interview with Musk via his own accounts, including on X.

The former president has most recently posted on X only once, with a photo of his mug shot after he surrendered at an Atlanta jail a year ago on charges he conspired to overturn his election loss in the state.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Alum Is New Dean of Health and Human Services College

DON'T MISS

Who Is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman Donald Trump Picked to Serve as AG?

DON'T MISS

The Key Races to Watch: Nov. 13 Update

DON'T MISS

Feds Agree to Raise San Luis Reservoir: More Water for Farmers, Communities, Wetlands

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: What Impact Does Deportation Have on the Central Valley?

DON'T MISS

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

DON'T MISS

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

DON'T MISS

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

DON'T MISS

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

DON'T MISS

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

UP NEXT

Who Is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman Donald Trump Picked to Serve as AG?

UP NEXT

The Key Races to Watch: Nov. 13 Update

UP NEXT

Feds Agree to Raise San Luis Reservoir: More Water for Farmers, Communities, Wetlands

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: What Impact Does Deportation Have on the Central Valley?

UP NEXT

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

UP NEXT

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

UP NEXT

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

UP NEXT

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

UP NEXT

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

UP NEXT

You Can Win a Lexus in This Fresno Telethon Drawing. Get Tickets Now.

Feds Agree to Raise San Luis Reservoir: More Water for Farmers, Communities, Wetlands

4 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: What Impact Does Deportation Have on the Central Valley?

4 hours ago

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

5 hours ago

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

5 hours ago

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

6 hours ago

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

6 hours ago

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

6 hours ago

You Can Win a Lexus in This Fresno Telethon Drawing. Get Tickets Now.

7 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to Be Attorney General

7 hours ago

Bluesky Has Added 1 Million Users Since the US Election as People Seek Alternatives to X

7 hours ago

Fresno State Alum Is New Dean of Health and Human Services College

From student to scholar to professor and department chair, Dr. Kara Zografos’ history with Fresno State dates back nearly 20 years. Now she ...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Fresno State Alum Is New Dean of Health and Human Services College

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP File)
4 hours ago

Who Is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman Donald Trump Picked to Serve as AG?

4 hours ago

The Key Races to Watch: Nov. 13 Update

4 hours ago

Feds Agree to Raise San Luis Reservoir: More Water for Farmers, Communities, Wetlands

Wired Wednesday Cover, 11/13/24, KMPH Screengrab
4 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: What Impact Does Deportation Have on the Central Valley?

5 hours ago

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

5 hours ago

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

6 hours ago

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

Search

Send this to a friend