United States President-elect Donald Trump has firmly rejected the idea of transferring the presidency to billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk.
Trump’s remarks, made during event in Arizona, on the 22nd of December, 2024, follow closely on the heels of President Joe Biden’s approval of a funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown.
The bill, which had been a product of bipartisan negotiations in Congress, sparked controversy earlier when both Trump and Musk publicly criticized its provisions.
Reports indicate that Musk’s significant influence both before and after Trump’s electoral victory in November has become a lightning rod for Democratic criticism.
The tech billionaire, who openly endorsed Trump following a shooting incident at the former president’s rally in Pennsylvania, is said to have donated a staggering $200 million to a Political Action Committee (PAC) backing Trump’s campaign.
However, Trump wasted no time in quashing rumors that Musk could assume the nation’s highest office.
“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 stated emphatically.
The former president also took aim at his critics, accusing them of pushing what he described as a “hoax” to fuel the speculative frenzy surrounding Musk’s political aspirations.