Assassination Attempt, US Border Crisis And More: Key Highlights Of Musk's Trump Interview On X

Former US president Donald Trump was interviewed by tech billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday (13 August) on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, marking the comeback of the Republican presidential nominee on the micro-blogging website after a long time.

Here are the key highlights from the interview:

Biden Forced Out Due to "Coup" after Debate, says Trump

During the interview, Trump claimed that Joe Biden was forced to drop out of the US Presidential race due to a "coup", after their first debate in June.

"I beat Biden so bad in the debate, he was forced out of the race - one of the greatest debate performances ever. Biden's exit, it was a coup," the 78-year-old former president stated.

Elon Musk backed Trump's statement, saying, "They basically took him behind a shed and shot him."

Broadcast live on Trump's official X account, the interview marked his significant return to the platform after more than a year.

Assassination attempt on Trump

Trump also recounted the recent assassination attempt during the interview, describing the incident as a "hard hit" that he narrowly survived last month.

"It was a hard hit. It was very, I guess you would say, surreal, but it wasn't surreal. You know, I was telling somebody, you have instances like this... where you feel it's a surreal situation. And I never felt that way," Trump said.

"It was a bullet. I knew immediately that it was at the ear... For those people that don't believe in God, I think we all have to start thinking about that," he added.

Closing the Department of Education if Voted to Power

Trump also said that he wanted to disband the Department of Education upon assuming office.

"I want to close up the Department of Education, move education back to the states," Trump said.

He says that US students are falling behind compared to their peers around the world.

"There are a lot of advantages," to eliminating the Department of Education, he said, claiming that it will cut education costs in half.

Iron Dome for US

Trump also said that he wants an Iron dome like missile defence system for the United States.

"Why shouldn't we have an Iron Dome? Israel has one," Trump said.

He was referring to Israel's missile defence system that can destroy short-range weapons fired at the country.

Iron Dome was developed after the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant group based in southern Lebanon.

Kamala Harris responsible for border crisis in US

During the chat with Elon Musk, Trump also expressed anger over Kamala Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic presidential pick.

"She hasn't done an interview since this whole scam started," the Republican presidential nominee said.

Musk called Kamala Harris "far left" while Trump called her a "radical-left lunatic".

The two also slammed her running mate Tim Walz, with Trump taking an aim at the Minnesota's Democratic Governor for signing into law progressive policies in state.

Trump also attacked Kamala Harris and Joe Biden on the border crisis in the US.

Calling Harris Biden's "border czar", the 78-year-old repeated his claims of other countries sending criminals and those with mental illness across the US border.

Trump said that if elected, he would oversee the "largest deportation" in the history of America.

Musk also supported the move, saying the US needs to limit illegal immigration, and recounted an experience of travelling to the southern border.

The billionaire said the people he saw at the border "did not look friendly".

Blames Biden for Inflation Crisis

Trump also blamed Joe Biden for the US's inflation crisis, saying it has "killed" Americans.

"I think we have the worst inflation we’ve had in 100 years. They say it’s 48 years. I don’t believe it," the former US President told Elon Musk.

In 2022, US inflation hit 9.1 per cent, the country's highest annual rate in over 40 years.

The interview faced significant technical issues before it even began, forcing Elon Musk to conduct the session for a limited audience, as many users struggled to join.

Over 1 million users were tuned in when the conversation eventually commenced.

Trump's access to his X account, @realDonaldTrump, was restored a month into Musk taking ownership of the company.

The account had been suspended by the platform's previous owners following the 6 January 2021 attack on Congress by alleged Trump supporters.

Last month, Musk, known for his strong criticism of the Democrats, endorsed Trump shortly after the Republican narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at a rally.

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