In December 2024, while US President-elect Donald Trump was addressing AmericaFest in Phoenix, an alleged (archived) screenshot of a Truth Social circulated online and garnered over 300,000 views.
(User X @iamchanteezy)
The message said:
Let me explain everything right away: I am the president-elect of the United States. Not Elon Musk. Nobody else. I know the media (the FAKE NEWS) and even some of you keep saying things like “Elon really runs the show”, however let me tell you it is MY vision, MY leadership and MY America we are talking about. Array Now, I admit, Elon was helpful in the campaign. He gave a lot of cash, HUGE amounts of cash. And I enjoyed it, in fact I did. But lately I feel like he’s forgotten one thing: I’m the one on the fare. Not him. Sure, he’s smart about rockets, cars, maybe even X (well, sort of), but politics? This is MY game, friends. The constant confusion, other people joking about him being “president” and I’m just vice president? NO. Fake. Totally false. It’s distracting and, frankly, disrespectful. This is about the American people, not Elon Musk’s ego. So, Elon, I’ll say this: Thank you for your support, but it’s time for you to stay in your lane. I’m trying to make this country greater than ever. The global will see who is in the rate on January 20. MAGA!
However, as acknowledged by a user X who shared the alleged screenshot, the publication is false. A seek of Trump’s Truth, a site that archives all of the president-elect’s posts on Truth Social, did not reveal any original edits to the message. The post was also not discovered in searches on Facebook and/or Trump’s accounts.
Discussions about the balance of forces between Musk and Trump have been going on since at least late November (archived). In early December (archived), articles (archived) (archived) containing the word “President Musk” circulated online.
The phrase was picked up by the likes of Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman (archived) and former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger (archived).
In fact, Trump addressed the discussion in his speech at AmericaFest on December 22 (at 1:02:39 in the video).
We will create the new Department of Government Effectiveness led by Elon Musk. And no, he will not assume the presidency. I like having other wise people. You know, they’re on a new hoax: Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, all the other hoaxes and the new one is: “President Trump has handed the presidency to Elon Musk. ” No no. This doesn’t happen. But Elon did a job. Isn’t it great to have other wise people we can count on?
After further praising Musk for his work supplying Starlink to disaster-hit areas of the U.S., Trump added: “But no, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you. And I’m safe, you know why? He can’t be, he wasn’t born in this country.”
@AdamKinzinger. Oh the war we had over the debt ceiling. And all we had to do to pass one for Vice President Trump and President Musk to ask for it. Dec. 19, 2024, https://x. com/AdamKinzinger/status/1869742257039098241.
@iamchanteezy. “Maybe it’s a genuine message, but it’s still talking about some fact about his tainted ego. ” X, 22 December 2024, https://x. com/iamchanteezy/status/1870668649813426611.
—. “Someone’s ego has been ripped out ?. ” X, 21 December 2024, https://x. com/iamchanteezy/status/1870599806760198174
@MartinNZ1969. ” So now it turns out that JD Vance has disappeared from the side of the couch, so to speak. Is Trump officially vice president or do you think President Musk will appoint someone else?” /x. com/MartinNZ1969/status/1865521066069946859.
President-Elect Trump Speaks at Turning Point Action Conference in Arizona | Video | C-SPAN.Org. https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/president-elect-trump-speaks-at-turning-point-action-conference-in-arizona/653788. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
@ProteinProsecco. ” Hearing that under President Musk and Co-President Trump, all extraneous weather air numbers will be removed from flight booking apps. . . “X, November 30, 2024, https://x. com/ProteinProsecco/status /1862849924490035506.
@RepDanGoldman. ” President Musk and Vice President Trump directed House Republicans to reject a bipartisan agreement that would have allowed New York to reimburse SNAP theft victims. “X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/RepDanGoldman/status/1869931881484927045.
@RobertJMolnar. “Chairman Musk had a assembly with the president of Georgia. ” X, December 8, 2024, https://x. com/RobertJMolnar/status/1865545368475468010.
@Rt_Sports_Tv. ” Senator Trump. ” X, December 9, 2024, https://x. com/Rt_Sports_Tv/status/1866113911294181495.
“The truth about Trump”. The Trump Truth, https://trumpstruth. org/search?end_date=&per_page=25&query=president-elect&sort=relevance&start_date=. Accessed December 23, 2024.
Laerke Christensen is a journalist in London, England, specializing in OSINT reporting.