Donald Trump and Elon Musk talk assassination attempt and immigration in X interview


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Donald Trump sat down with X owner Elon Musk on Monday night for an interview that touched on the assassination attempt against the Republican presidential candidate as well as his views on immigration and energy.

The live-streamed session featured an overwhelmingly friendly discussion between the two right-leaning public figures that spanned more than two hours.

While Mr Trump is running for president, the chat revealed little new about his plans for a second term in the White House.

The interview got off to a shaky start, however, with users complaining they were unable to access it.

The Trump team posted that the “interview on X is being overwhelmed with listeners logging in”.

A person tries to watch the interview on the X social media network from New York. Reuters
A person tries to watch the interview on the X social media network from New York. Reuters

And once the meeting began, Mr Musk apologised for the late start and claimed a “massive attack” had overwhelmed the company's system, without providing evidence.

Staffers speaking under condition of anonymity told tech publication The Verge there was not a DDOS, or distributed denial-of-service, attack as Mr Musk had claimed.

Mr Trump recounted the attempt on his life in vivid detail, with the presidential hopeful saying the event had reinforced his faith in God.

“If I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now – as much as I like you,” Mr Trump told Mr Musk.

Mr 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,” Mr Musk said. “And if they don’t think the American president is tough, they will do what they want to do.”

The conversation between the two men was friendly – Mr Musk endorsed Mr Trump for president last month – and did little to shed light on how Mr Trump might handle a second term in the White House, apart from his plans to tackle illegal immigration.

During the interview, Mr Trump repeated a debunked claim that the Congo was releasing criminals from jails and sending them to the US.

“Elon, what’s happened is unbelievable. You have from Africa, from the Congo. They’re coming from the Congo and 22 people came in from the Congo recently, and they’re murderers,” Mr Trump said.

The Trump campaign has been focusing on discrediting his Democratic challenger Kamala Harris's record on the border, with claims that as Vice President, she was responsible for allowing a record number of people into the country illegally.

Ms Harris has erased Mr Trump's lead in opinion polls and energised Democratic voters with a series of high-energy rallies, Reuters reported.

The interview also delved into Mr Trump's views on climate change, which he has frequently called a hoax. Mr Musk tried to steer Mr Trump towards acknowledging the risks to the environment caused by fossil fuels and the need to support a clean energy transition.

Vilifying oil and gas is wrong because the economy would collapse without the industry, Mr Musk said, but the fossil fuel supply is finite and global warming does pose some risk – and that is where Tesla comes in.

“When you look at our cars, we don’t believe that environmentalism, that caring about the environment, should mean that you have to suffer,” Mr Musk said of Tesla.

But Mr Trump was unmoved, slamming President Joe Biden for shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline project.

“I allowed it [the pipeline project] in my first week because it was jobs and it moved oil,” Mr Trump said. “And by the way, in a much more environmentally friendly way, it's underground, it's not a truck that catches on fire or a train that catches on fire.”

On Monday morning, Mr Trump returned to X for the first time in a year, posting a video that highlighted his claim that the four criminal prosecutions he faces are politically motivated.

He quickly followed with a half-dozen other posts, in a possible indication he will be more active on X from here on.

His last X post before Monday was one in August 2023, when he appealed for donations and showed a mugshot after he was booked at an Atlanta jail over felony charges tied to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.

Mr Trump's access to his account, @realDonaldTrump, was restored a month into Mr Musk's ownership of X after being suspended by the platform's previous owners following the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress by his supporters.

The former president frequently posts on his Truth Social platform, which was launched in February 2022, but his posts there reach a much smaller audience than on X.

A look at former president Donald Trump's Truth Social feed – in pictures

  • On Truth Social, a social media platform founded by Donald Trump after he was banned from Twitter, conversation is often limited to sycophantic memes and conspiratorial memes. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    On Truth Social, a social media platform founded by Donald Trump after he was banned from Twitter, conversation is often limited to sycophantic memes and conspiratorial memes. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Almost all of Mr Trump's followers are die-hard supporters and criticism of the former president is rare. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Almost all of Mr Trump's followers are die-hard supporters and criticism of the former president is rare. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump's signature line on 'The Apprentice' was: 'You're Fired!' Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump's signature line on 'The Apprentice' was: 'You're Fired!' Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Many memes lionise the former president. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Many memes lionise the former president. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump hopes to get a second term in office in 2024. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump hopes to get a second term in office in 2024. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • A not-true ReTruth: Trump-backed, election-denying candidate Kari Lake lost to Democrat Katie Dobbs in the Arizona governor race. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    A not-true ReTruth: Trump-backed, election-denying candidate Kari Lake lost to Democrat Katie Dobbs in the Arizona governor race. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump suggests voter fraud in the Arizona governor race. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump suggests voter fraud in the Arizona governor race. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump attacks Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who may be well positioned to duel the former president in the 2024 White House race. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump attacks Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who may be well positioned to duel the former president in the 2024 White House race. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Many Maga Republicans miss Mr Trump. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Many Maga Republicans miss Mr Trump. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump attacks mail-in ballots that allow millions of Americans who are unable to vote on election day to participate. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump attacks mail-in ballots that allow millions of Americans who are unable to vote on election day to participate. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Some of the Trump supporters that stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, used American flags to attack police officers. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Some of the Trump supporters that stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, used American flags to attack police officers. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Supporters credit Mr Trump with not starting any new wars. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Supporters credit Mr Trump with not starting any new wars. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • How many moves in a game of chess? Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    How many moves in a game of chess? Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Another ReTruth. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Another ReTruth. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • The 'Greatest Of All Time'? That remains to be seen. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    The 'Greatest Of All Time'? That remains to be seen. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump was expected to announce a new run for the White House on November 15. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump was expected to announce a new run for the White House on November 15. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump blamed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for Republicans' poor showing in the midterm elections. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump blamed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for Republicans' poor showing in the midterm elections. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump still attracts fierce loyalty from his 'Maga' supporters. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump still attracts fierce loyalty from his 'Maga' supporters. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump suggests he would perform better than Ron DeSantis. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump suggests he would perform better than Ron DeSantis. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • A variation on the election-denying theme. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    A variation on the election-denying theme. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump has continued to make his baseless claims of election fraud in races he or his fellow Republicans lost. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump has continued to make his baseless claims of election fraud in races he or his fellow Republicans lost. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Another ReTruth. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Another ReTruth. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump returns to his debunked claims of widespread election fraud. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump returns to his debunked claims of widespread election fraud. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Another teaser for his November 15 announcement. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Another teaser for his November 15 announcement. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump 'ReTruths' a message from a follower. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump 'ReTruths' a message from a follower. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • The 'legend' will be 78 at the 2024 election, the same age Joe Biden was when he got elected. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    The 'legend' will be 78 at the 2024 election, the same age Joe Biden was when he got elected. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump is expected to announce he will run again for president in 2024. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump is expected to announce he will run again for president in 2024. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Mr Trump teases his announcement on November 15. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
    Mr Trump teases his announcement on November 15. Photo: Screengrab from Truth Social
  • Truth Social is only available in the US, Canada and Brazil. Reuters
    Truth Social is only available in the US, Canada and Brazil. Reuters
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
ILT20%20UAE%20stars
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Recipe

Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo

Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.

Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.

Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking,  remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.

Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.

 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE

Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:

• Buy second hand stuff

 They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.

• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres

 Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.

• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.

Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.

• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home

Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

The%20specs
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The biog

Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia

Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins

Favourite dish: Grilled fish

Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.

More from Armen Sarkissian
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Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier

Results

UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs

Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets

Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets

Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets

Semi-finals

UAE v Qatar

Bahrain v Kuwait

 

FIGHT CARD

Fights start from 6pm Friday, January 31

Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) v Ahmed Saeb (IRQ)

Women’s bantamweight
Cornelia Holm (SWE) v Corinne Laframboise (CAN)

Welterweight
Omar Hussein (JOR) v Vitalii Stoian (UKR)

Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) v Ali Dyusenov (UZB)

Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) v Delfin Nawen (PHI)

Catchweight 80kg​​​​​​​
Seb Eubank (GBR) v Mohamed El Mokadem (EGY)

Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Ramadan Noaman (EGY)

Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Reydon Romero (PHI)

Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Juho Valamaa (FIN)

Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) v Austin Arnett (USA)

Super heavyweight
Roman Wehbe (LEB) v Maciej Sosnowski (POL)

HIV on the rise in the region

A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.

New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.

Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.

Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.  

Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.

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Updated: August 13, 2024, 2:53 PM