The United States (US) President-elect, Donald Trump, has stated categorically that the CEO of Tesla Motors and social media platform, X, Elon Musk, can never become the country’s president.
According to Trump, the reason is that the billionaire businessman was not born in the US.
Trump’s remarks followed a day after President Joe Biden enacted a funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown.
The prior legislation, which resulted from negotiations between both parties in Congress, had faced backlash just days earlier when Trump and Musk publicly criticized it.
It is worth noting that Musk’s influence has emerged as a significant target for Democratic criticism, both prior to and following Trump’s electoral success in November.
Musk publicly expressed his support for Trump after a shooting incident at the former president’s rally in Pennsylvania.
The technology mogul is reported to have donated approximately $200 million to a Political Action Committee (PAC) backing Trump.
Nevertheless, during an address in Arizona on Sunday, Trump responded to the rampant speculation, asserting that the U.S. presidency will not be transferred to the owner of X (formerly Twitter).
“And no, he’s not taking the presidency. He’s not going to be president, that I can tell you. You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country,” Trump said.
He also criticized his political opponents for perpetuating the narrative, describing the speculations as a “hoax.”
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