Illegal immigrants compared to “zombies” who must be “deported”: the surreal discussion between Elon Musk and Donald Trump

For two hours, the two billionaires appeared like two comrades chatting in a bistro, without ever opposing each other. JIM LO SCALZO/CAROLINE BREHMAN/EFE/Newscom/MaxPPP

Elon Musk and Donald Trump exchanged for two hours during a conversation on X (formerly Twitter) this Monday, August 12, 2024, comparing migrants to a zombie apocalypse.

Donald Trump and his super-rich backer Elon Musk exchanged a slew of radical theories Monday, from comparing illegal immigrants to “zombies” to talking about a “coup d'état” against US President Joe Biden, during a conversation on X, largely delayed by technical problems.

Trump promises “the largest deportation in history"

The boss of the social network, also at the helm of Tesla and Space X, had promised a “very entertaining". Above all, it allowed Mr. Trump to recycle his campaign themes in the presence of a friendly interlocutor, determined not to contradict him.

The former Republican president has once again promised “the largest deportation in the history” of the United States, falsely claiming that the massive influx of migrants under the Biden administration has increased crime.

“We have people flocking in as if it were an (…) apocalypse zombie", agreed Mr. Musk, who has long had a complicated relationship with Mr. Trump but has publicly supported him since the assassination attempt on him last month.

The tech giant took the opportunity to label Kamala Harris, Mr. Trump's new challenger in the race for the White House, as a "far-left" candidate.

Struggling to counter the enthusiasm generated by Ms. Harris's entry into the running, Mr. Trump called her legitimacy into question. The renunciation of Joe Biden, weighed down by doubts about his health, "was a coup d', fulminated the tribune 78 years old.

The discussion targeted by a cyberattack 

The discussion was listened to by more than a million users live, on a platform from which Mr. Trump was banned after the invasion of the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021.

It started more than 40 minutes late, due to technical problems presented by Mr. Musk as a cyberattack. The billionaire spoke of "a massive DDOS attack", known as a denial of service attack, designed to bottleneck the company's servers and cause an outage.

“This massive attack illustrates the opposition of many people to simply hearing what President Trump has to say”, when the exchange finally got underway.

Embarrassing, the episode recalled the fiasco already suffered by X during the campaign entry of former Republican candidate Ron DeSantis, broadcast on the platform and weighed down by technical problems.

Since the acquisition of Twitter by Mr. Musk — who renamed it X and allowed Mr. Trump to reactivate his account there — the platform has been criticized for its laxity in dealing with misinformation. Its detractors also accuse it of becoming a mouthpiece for the radical right.

A few hours before the exchange, the European Commissioner for Digital Affairs Thierry Breton warned Elon Musk, sending him a letter to remind him of his moderation obligations.

Countering rising sea levels with "more seaside properties"

For two hours, the two billionaires appeared like two friends chatting in a bistro, without ever opposing each other.

Mr. Trump, for example, joked about climate change, explaining that rising sea levels will mean “more beachfront properties”. Which didn't stop him from praising the Tesla electric cars his interlocutor produces, which he finds “incredible”.

“It's not like the house is on fire right now,”, added Mr. Musk, who praised the pundit for his “epic tweets.”

Mr. Trump took the opportunity to tout his relationships with authoritarian leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. If he returns to power, the United States will be safer on the world stage, he promised.

“I think people underestimate the risk of a third world war,”, added Mr. Musk. The boss even appeared to be a candidate for a position under a potential future Trump administration, explaining that he would like to participate in a commission that would “ensure that taxpayers' money is spent wisely”.

A tempting prospect for the former president, who has praised Mr. Musk for the waves of layoffs he imposed at X. “You are the best cost-cutter", he complimented.

With less than three months to go presidential election, Mr. Musk concluded by dramatizing the stakes of the election. "I think we are at a turning point in the fate of civilization and I think we have to take the right path,", he told Mr. Trump. "And I think you are the right path."