In a heated exchange that highlights the intersection of technology and politics, Vice President Kamala Harris lashed out at Elon Musk on Monday, as the billionaire tech mogul hosted a discussion with former President Donald Trump on the social media platform X. The event, which was billed as a conversation rather than an interview, drew significant attention and underscored Musk’s increasingly prominent role in political discourse.
Harris’s presidential campaign responded swiftly and sharply to the event. In an email to supporters, the campaign labeled Musk as a “lackey for Team MAGA,” criticizing the Tesla CEO for using his wealth and influence to allegedly “control our democracy.” The email, which was linked to fundraising efforts on ActBlue, further accused Musk of having “ruined” Twitter, the platform he acquired and rebranded as X, by allowing disinformation and unregulated free speech to flourish.
President Trump has been speaking for over an hour to over a million people about his winning agenda for the American people.
Kamala is BIG MAD about this as she refuses to speak to the media, do an interview, or even explain what platform she is even running on.
So pathetic. pic.twitter.com/H9KO7bErs7
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 13, 2024
The tension between Harris and Musk marks a broader conflict between political leaders and influential tech figures who are reshaping the landscape of public communication. Musk’s role in hosting Trump on his platform is particularly significant as it signals his support for Trump, whom he has backed in recent months, including endorsing Trump’s presidential campaign following an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. This endorsement has fueled concerns among Harris and her supporters about the implications of Musk’s actions for the future of American democracy.
During the Spaces discussion on X, Trump’s campaign took the opportunity to fire back at Harris, accusing her of avoiding media engagements and failing to articulate a clear campaign platform. “Kamala is BIG MAD about this as she refuses to speak to the media, do an interview, or even explain what platform she is even running on,” the Trump campaign posted on X, accompanied by a screenshot of Harris’s fundraising email. The message went on to call Harris’s actions “pathetic.”
The Spaces event itself faced some technical difficulties, with Musk reporting that X had experienced a “massive” DDOS attack, leading to a brief delay before the conversation resumed. Musk defended the format of the event, stating that he intended the discussion to provide insight into Trump’s conversational style, which he argued is often obscured in traditional interviews. “Nobody is quite themselves in an interview, so it’s hard to understand what they’re really like,” Musk said during the event.
Earlier in the day, Trump’s X account had become unusually active, with posts aimed at rallying his base and questioning whether Americans are better off now than during his presidency. This resurgence on X marks Trump’s re-entry into the platform’s political discourse, a move that has been closely watched by both supporters and critics.
