Trump Finally Addresses Rumors About Elon Musk As 'Shadow President'

President-elect Donald Trump dismissed claims that Elon Musk is taking over the presidency, calling the idea a “hoax” during his speech at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona.

“No, he’s not becoming president,” Trump said. “This is just another hoax. The latest one is that I’ve handed the presidency to Elon Musk. It’s nonsense.”

Trump noted that Musk, born in South Africa, is constitutionally ineligible to be president.

Concerns have grown over Musk’s role after Trump appointed him to co-lead an initiative to streamline federal spending. Critics have pointed out potential conflicts of interest, given Musk’s leadership of federally regulated companies like Tesla and SpaceX, and his influence in derailing a bipartisan budget plan by repeatedly attacking it on X, the platform he owns.

Democrats have labeled Musk a “shadow president.” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) remarked, “It feels like Elon Musk is running the show, with Trump playing second fiddle.”

At the conference, Trump also revealed plans to quickly broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, emphasizing a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Defending his controversial pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead Health and Human Services, Trump expressed support for Kennedy’s pursuit of unfounded vaccine-autism research, saying, “We’re going to make America healthy again.”

Trump also vowed to reverse renamings like North Carolina’s Fort Liberty, which he plans to restore to Fort Bragg, and Mount Denali, which he wants reverted to Mount McKinley.

“Woke policies are destroying our country,” he declared. “We’re going to put an end to woke.”

On TikTok, Trump indicated openness to keeping the app, citing its reach among younger voters.