A humorous remark that no one has tried to assassinate Democrats may have been seen as a threat by the Secret Service
A social media post by Elon Musk in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump has attracted the attention of the Secret Service, Bloomberg has discovered.
An assassin narrowly missed Trump at a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania. On Sunday, a pro-Ukrainian activist was arrested in Florida after setting up an ambush for the Republican nominee at a golf course.
“And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala ????” Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns, referring to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Outraged Democrats quickly accused Musk of inciting violence to his 198 million followers. He deleted the post shortly thereafter.
Responding to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Bloomberg on Wednesday, the Secret Service said the records it had about Musk’s post were “compiled for law enforcement purposes” and could not be released because “disclosure could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
The Secret Service “is aware of the social media post made by Elon Musk,” agency spokesman Nate Herring told the outlet. “As a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence. We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees.”
According to Bloomberg, Musk will either get a visit from the Secret Service and “have to prove he doesn’t pose an imminent threat” to Biden and Harris.
Musk endorsed Trump and has frequently criticized the Democrats for their policies – including censorship, which drove him to purchase X in the first place. The Tesla and SpaceX founder bought the platform formerly known as Twitter in October 2022, for a rumored $44 billion.
Although his observation about assassinations was factually correct, Musk later said it was a joke that fell flat.
“Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X,” he wrote. “Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text.”
Some of his other quips have been more successful. Responding to the endorsement of Harris by “Childless Cat Lady” and pop megastar Taylor Swift, Musk offered to “give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” referencing both the dozen children he has fathered with three different women so far, and claims that migrants in Ohio were eating people’s pets.
