In the latest instance of Twitter/X and its owner Elon Musk influencing US political discourse, the tech billionaire has received widespread condemnation over a tweet in which he claimed âno one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamalaâ following the news that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had survived a second assassination attempt in just two months.
Trump, who was pictured with a bloodied ear after being shot at during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July, was playing a round of golf at his Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday when Secret Service agents spotted the butt of an AK-47-style assault rifle in the bushes between 300 to 500 yards away from the former president.
Ryan Routh has since been identified as the suspect and is now in custody.
While political figures around the world condemned another act of âpolitical violenceâ, Muskâs contribution came in the form the reply to a tweet asking âwhy they want to kill Donald Trumpâ with the comment that âno one is even tryingâ to assassinate the current US president and vice president.
Unsurprisingly, many people soon slammed the Tesla and SpaceX founder for the since-deleted post, with many branding the entrepreneur a âthreat to national securityâ:
Following the criticism, Musk commented: âWell, one lesson Iâve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesnât mean itâs going to be all that hilarious as a post on X.â
"Joking" about two political figures not yet being the subject of assassination attempts isnât really something many people find âhilariousâ, Elon.
He added: âTurns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people donât know the context and the delivery is plain text.â
That tweet has since been given a proposed Community Note, in which an anonymous user presented the âalternative factâ that Musk is âjust *not* funnyâ.
While the crowdsourced feature is designed to provide âadditional contextâ to posts considered âpotentially misleadingâ, weâd be inclined to agree.
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