Washington: Donald Trump recounted his assassination attempt in vivid detail and blamed the incident on “a lack of coordination” during a high-profile return to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — a conversation that was plagued by technical glitches.
“If I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now — as much as I like you,” Trump told X’s owner Elon Musk. “There was a lack of coordination. … Everybody understands that building should have been covered.”
The session was intended to serve as a way for the former president to reach potentially millions of voters directly. It was also an opportunity for X, a platform that relies heavily on politics, to redeem itself after some struggles.
It did not begin as planned. With more than 878,000 users connected to the conversation more than 40 minutes after the scheduled start time, the interview had not yet begun. Many users received a message reading, “Details not available.”
Trump’s team posted that the “interview on X is being overwhelmed with listeners logging in”. And once the meeting began, Musk apologised for the late start and blamed a “massive attack” that overwhelmed the company’s system.
Despite the rocky start, the public conversation between Trump and Musk underscored just how much the US political landscape has changed less than four years after Trump was permanently banned by the social media platform’s former leadership for spreading disinformation that sparked the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress and undermined the very foundation of the American democracy.
Such disinformation has thrived at X under Musk’s leadership.
Monday’s meeting also highlighted the evolving personal relationship between Trump and Musk, two of the world’s most powerful men, who have shifted from being bitter rivals to unlikely allies over the span of one election season.
Musk supported Florida Gov Ron DeSantis during the GOP primary.
Notably, in May 2023, DeSantis used the social media platform as a way to officially announce his presidential bid, a disastrous rollout marred by technical glitches, overloaded by the more than 400,000 people who tried to dial in.
Trump’s Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, noted that Trump mocked DeSantis at the time.
“Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!” Trump wrote in a message reposted by Harris’ campaign Monday.