NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump recounted his assassination attempt in vivid detail and promised the largest deportation in U.S. history during a high-profile return to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — a conversation that was plagued by technical glitches.
“If I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now — as much as I like you," Trump told X’s owner Elon Musk.
Musk, a former Trump critic, said the Republican nominee's toughness, as demonstrated by his reaction to last month's shooting, was critical for national security.
“There’s some real tough characters out there," Musk said. "And if they don’t think the American president is tough, they will do what they want to do.”
The rare public conversation between Trump and Musk, which spanned more than two hours Monday night and was overwhelmingly friendly, revealed little new about Trump’s plans for a second term. The former president spent much of the discussion focused on his recent assassination attempt, illegal immigration and his plans to cut government regulations.
Still, the online meeting underscored just how much the U.S. political landscape has changed less than four years after Trump was permanently banned by the social media platform’s former leadership for spreading disinformation that sparked the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress and undermined the very foundation of the American democracy.
Such disinformation has thrived at X under Musk’s leadership, although it was largely ignored during his conversation with Trump save for a passing Trump reference to a “rigged election.”
The session was intended to serve as a way for the former president to reach potentially millions of voters directly. It was also an opportunity for X, a platform that relies heavily on politics, to redeem itself after some struggles.
It did not begin as planned.
With more than 878,000 users connected to the meeting more than 40 minutes after the scheduled start time, the interview had not yet begun. Many users received a message reading, “Details not available."
Trump's team posted that the “interview on X is being overwhelmed with listeners logging in.” And once the meeting began, Musk apologized for the late start and blamed a “massive attack” that overwhelmed the company's system. Trump’s voice sounded muffled at times.
Trump supporters were openly frustrated.
“Not available????? I planned my whole day around this,” wrote conservative commentator Glenn Beck.
“Please let Elon know we can’t join,” billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted.
Ahead of the event, Musk posted on the platform that X was conducting “some system scaling tests” to handle what was anticipated to be a high volume of participants.
The rocky start was reminiscent of a May 2023 social media conversation between Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Republican governor was using the social media 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.
Trump's Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, noted that Trump mocked DeSantis at the time.
“Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!” Trump wrote in a message reposted by Harris' campaign Monday.
Once the interview ended, Harris’ campaign responded with a statement saying, “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.”
Monday’s meeting highlighted the evolving personal relationship between Trump and Musk, two of the world’s most powerful men, who have shifted from being bitter rivals to unlikely allies over the span of one election season.
Musk, who described himself as a “moderate Democrat” until recently, suggested in 2022 that Trump was too old to be president again. Still, Musk formally endorsed Trump two days after his assassination attempt last month.
During their talk, Trump welcomed the idea of Musk joining his next administration to help cut government waste. Musk volunteered to join a prospective “government efficiency commission.”
“You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump told Musk. “I need an Elon Musk — I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts. I want to close up the Department of Education, move education back to the states.”
Even before his endorsement, the tech CEO had already been working privately to support a pro-Trump super PAC. The group, known as America PAC, is now under investigation by election officials for alleged misleading attempts to collect data from voters.
Meanwhile, Trump has softened his criticism of electric vehicles, citing Musk’s leadership of Tesla. And on Monday, at least, Trump returned to Musk’s social media platform in force. The former president made at least eight individual posts in the hours leading up to the Musk interview.
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.
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.
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 hosted the interview, has more than 193 million followers.
In a reminder that the world was watching, the chat prompted a preemptive note of caution from Europe.
Thierry Breton, a French business executive and commissioner for internal market of the European Union, warned Musk of possible “amplification of harmful content” by broadcasting his interview with Trump. In a letter posted on X, Breton urged Musk to “ensure X’s compliance” with EU law, including the Digital Services Act, adopted in 2022 to address a number of issues including disinformation.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung urged the EU to “mind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the U.S. Presidential election.”
Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Bozeman, Mont., Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk talks with President Donald Trump, May 30, 2020, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump, right, talks with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the White House in Washington, Feb. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
This combination of photos shows former President Donald Trump during rally in Minden, Nev., Oct. 8, 2022, left, and Elon Musk in Wilmington, Del., July 12, 2021. (AP Photo)
Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. Find the AP’s top photos of the day in Today’s Photo Collection. For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan in AP Newsroom.
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WEEKEND COVERAGE
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For weekend stories, please click here for the Weekend Lookahead digest.
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TOP STORIES
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IRAN-PROTESTS — On the streets of Iranian cities, it’s becoming more common to see a woman passing by without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, as the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked approaches. Across social media, videos of people filming neighborhood streets or just talking about a normal day in their life, women and girls can be seen walking past with their long hair out over their shoulders, particularly after sunset. This defiance comes despite what United Nations investigators describe as “expanded repressive measures and policies” by Iran’s theocracy to punish them. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 880 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-SENATE-DEMOCRATS — Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio are trying to capitalize on the momentum Kamala Harris’ emergence as the party’s nominee for president has injected into key voting blocs. But in states that Donald Trump is expected to win, they must do so without alienating moderate voters. By Matthew Brown and Julie Carr Smyth. SENT: 1,200 words, photos. WITH: ELECTION-2024-HARRIS — Harris says one difference between her and President Joe Biden is that she offers a “new generation of leadership.” SENT: 590 words, photos.
PANDEMIC AID-GOVERNMENTS — Time is running out for local governments to use billions of dollars of federal pandemic relief funds. The American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in 2021 provided $350 billion to states, counties, cities and other governments. They must obligate the money for specific purposes by the end of this year or return the rest. U.S. Treasury Department data shows 80% of the funds nationally were allocated as of this spring. An Associated Press analysis found about 3,500 local governments reported obligating less than 25% of their funds. By David A. Lieb. SENT: 1,150 words, photo.
GOOGLE-ANTITRUST — An ongoing trial in Virginia may determine whether Google holds an illegal monopoly on the technology used to buy and sell certain types of web advertising. The auctions over ad impressions occur in milliseconds and are designed to match an advertiser’s product or service with interested consumers. The Justice Department contends Google rigged the bidding to favor its own products. Google says it no longer auctions space in the ways alleged. By Matthew Barakat. SENT: 980 words, photos.
HAWAII WILDFIRE REPORT-VICTIMS — A new report shows that more than 60% of the 102 people who died in last year’s Lahaina wildfire tried to flee the flames. The Fire Safety Research Institute report for the Hawaii attorney general’s office released Friday includes details of victims’ attempts to survive and highlights how Lahaina’s already-deteriorating infrastructure complicated evacuation efforts. By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Claudia Lauer. SENT: 780 words, photos.
BRITAIN-PRINCE-HARRY-TURNING-40 — Prince Harry was always something different. From the moment he first appeared in public, snuggled in Princess Diana’s arms outside the hospital where he was born in 1984, Harry was the ginger-haired scamp who stuck his tongue out at photographers. He was the boisterous adolescent who was roundly criticized for wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party. And, later, he was a young man who gave up the trappings of royal life and moved to Southern California with his American wife. By Danica Kirka. SENT: 1,060, photos.
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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES
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BELARUS-LOSING IDENTITY — Belarusians are experiencing a new wave of Russification as Moscow expands its economic, political and cultural dominance to overtake the identity of its neighbor. Perhaps the biggest sign is the decline of the Belarusian language, which is close to, but distinct from, Russian. Belarusian cultural figures are being persecuted and hundreds of institutions are being closed. Experts say Moscow is seeking to implement in Belarus what the Kremlin intended to do in neighboring Ukraine. By Yuras Karmanau. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UK — Russia accused six British diplomats of spying and said it decided to expel them. The U.K. said the “completely baseless” move came weeks ago and was linked to its action in May to revoke the credentials of an attaché at the Russian Embassy and limit Moscow’s diplomatic activities in London. SENT: 770 words, photos, video. WITH: RUSSIA-UK-EXPULSIONS-TIMELINE — The six are a small number in the history of Moscow-London acts of expulsion over the past decades. SENT: 410 words, photo.
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MORE NEWS
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KENYA-CULT-DEATHS — In one of the deadliest cult-related massacres ever, more than 430 bodies have been recovered since police raided Good News International Church in a forest in Kenya. Seventeen months later, many in the area are still shaken by what happened despite repeated warnings about the church’s leader. SENT: 1,330 words, photos. WITH: KENYA-CULT-DEATHS-TAKEAWAYS — Takeaways from AP’s report updating the cult massacre that claimed hundreds of lives in Kenya. SENT: 680 words, photo.
MEXICO-CHALCO-FLOODS — Sewage-infused floodwaters have invaded streets, homes and businesses in Chalco, a low-income suburb southeast of Mexico City, for over a month. According to the Government of Chalco, more than 2,000 homes and over 7,000 residents have been affected and the water was as deep as 5 feet in some areas. SENT: 1,040 words, photos, video.
GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING-FUNERALS — A teenage student and a math teacher will be remembered at funerals set to take place Saturday, 10 days after they were killed in a mass shooting at a Georgia high school. SENT: 730 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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GRAY WOLVES-ENDANGERED — The Biden administration on Friday asked an appeals court to revive a Trump-era rule that lifted remaining Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the U.S. SENT: 750 words, photo.
ARIZONA-ABORTION BAN REPEAL-EXPLAINER — A repeal of Arizona’s Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions, approved by state lawmakers and signed by the Democratic governor, takes effect on Saturday. SENT: 730 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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TROPICAL-WEATHER — Residents of the Carrollton neighborhood in New Orleans are among the thousands in the city who remain without power after Hurricane Francine passed through. The city’s utility provider, Entergy, sent out notifications Friday informing some people their power had been “restored” even though they still had no electricity. SENT: 920 words, photos, video, audio.
WILDFIRES — Firefighters battling three major wildfires in the mountains east of Los Angeles were gaining ground Friday against the blazes. SENT: 810 words, photos, video, audio.
US-OREGON-NON-CITIZENS-VOTER-REGISTRATION — Oregon officials acknowledged the state mistakenly registered more than 300 non-citizens as voters since 2021. A spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Transportation described it as a “data entry issue” when people applied for driver’s licenses. Of those, two voted in elections since 2021. SENT: 310 words, photo.
SUPREME-COURT-YOUTH-CLIMATE-LAWSUIT — Young climate activists in Oregon have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their long-running lawsuit against the federal government in which they argued they have a constitutional right to a climate that sustains life. SENT: 300 words, photo.
COLORADO-SUPERMARKET-SHOOTING — A psychologist who evaluated a mentally ill man who killed 10 people at a Colorado supermarket says the gunman heard “killing voices” right before opening fire. SENT: 390 words, photo.
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INTERNATIONAL
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TROPICAL-WEATHER-MEXICO — Tropical Storm Ileana forced residents and tourists in Mexico’s resort-studded Los Cabos to stay inside as rain pounded the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. Ileana moved Saturday northward over the southern Gulf of California. SENT: 470 words.
CHINA-ECONOMY — China’s economy softened in August, extending a slowdown in industrial activity and real estate prices as Beijing faces pressure to ramp up spending to stimulate demand. SENT: 300 words, photo.
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BUSINESS
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WALGREENS-LAWSUITS SETTLED — Walgreens agreed to pay $106 million to settle lawsuits that alleged it submitted false payment claims with government health care programs for prescriptions that were never dispensed. SENT: 230 words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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BE WELL-PETS-DOG WALKING INJURIES — Researchers have found dog walking-related injuries have been on the rise among adults and children in the U.S. Fractures, sprains and head trauma are among the most common. Staying safe when walking a leashed dog takes diligence, focus and precautions. SENT: 900 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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MUSIC-LIL-WAYNE-SUPER-BOWL-SNUB — Lil Wayne opened up for the first time about his devastation after not being selected as the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show headline performer in his hometown of New Orleans. SENT: 290 words, photo.
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SPORTS
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AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ELITE-PREVIEW — The first edition of the AFC Champions League Elite begins Monday with stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Riyad Mahrez striving to lead their Saudi Arabian clubs to continental success. Saudi Pro League clubs have spent over $1 billion on transfers to bring top-level players from the big European leagues. SENT: 480 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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The Nerve Center can be reached at 800-845-8450, ext. 1600. For photos, ext. 1900. For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, centre, celebrates with Bruno Fernandes after the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Portugal and Scotland at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
FILE - Lil Wayne performs during "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" 25th anniversary tour, Nov. 5, 2023, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - A woman walks a dog across the street in Denver on Oct. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
FILE - People look at their phones while waiting to cross an intersection in the rain at the Taikoo Li Sanlitun shopping center in Beijing, July, 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
Bridges stand in Berwick Bay in Morgan City, La., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, after Hurricane Francine. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP, Pool)
FILE - This remote camera image provided by the U.S. Forest Service shows a female gray wolf and two of the three pups born in 2017 in the wilds of Lassen National Forest in northern California on June 29, 2017. (U.S. Forest Service via AP, File)
Claudia Alvarado points to damage from sewage-infused floodwaters at her home in Valle de Chalco, State of Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
FILE - Extremist evangelical leader Paul Mackenzie, who was arrested on suspicion of telling his followers to fast to death in order to meet Jesus, appears at a court accompanied by some of his followers in Malindi, Kenya on Monday, April 17, 2023. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Schoolchildren march during the traditional opening of the school year, known as the Day of Knowledge, in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 1, 2018. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Britain's Prince Harry dances with a girl during a visit to the non-governmental organization RISE - Reaching Individuals through Skills and Education, in Kingston, Jamaica, Tuesday March 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Collin Reid, File)
FILE - A visitor walks by photos of victims of the August 2023 wildfire at a memorial near the Lahaina Bypass highway on Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
Eric Mahr, left, a lawyer representing Google in the Department of Justice's antitrust case against the tech giant, returns to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after a lunch break in the trial, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The lot of the future victims' advocacy center is shown, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024 in Gilbert, Ariz. The town has obligated only one-quarter of funds received through the American Rescue Plan for projects, according to the most recent data from the federal government. Construction on the dirt lot near its fire department for the advocacy center remain unrealized. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., leads a cheer at a rally with Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Bozeman, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - An Iranian woman without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, flashes a victory sign as she walks at the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
