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Elon Musk says he’s ‘willing to serve’ after Trump said he might give him role in administration

Controversial Tesla CEO has already publicly endorsed the former president in the 2024 race

Rhian Lubin
Tuesday 20 August 2024 12:56 BST
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Donald Trump has said he would ‘certainly’ consider giving Elon Musk a role in his administration if he wins the presidential election

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Elon Musk has posted an AI image of himself and declared he is “willing to serve” after Donald Trump said he would consider giving the billionaire a role in his administration if he takes back the White House in November.

In the image, Musk is seen standing in front of the American flag at a podium branded: “Department of Government Efficiency.”

He captioned the post: “I am willing to serve.”

The controversial Tesla CEO, who reinstated Trump’s X account after he was banned following the January 6 Capitol riot, has already publicly endorsed the former president in the 2024 presidential election.

On Monday – the same day that his political rivals descended on Chicago for the first day of the Democratic National Convention – Trump said he would “certainly” consider giving Musk a cabinet or advisory role in his potential future administration and called the X owner “brilliant.”

“He’s a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He’s a brilliant guy,” Trump told Reuters in an interview after a campaign event in York, Pennsylvania.

Last week, Trump had shared an AI deepfake video of him and Musk dancing – one of a growing number of AI-generated images he has shared in recent days.

In one Truth Social post, Trump shared AI-generated images of Taylor Swift and her dedicated fanbase sporting “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts, alluding that the star has become an unlikely follower of the MAGA movement.

Despite her vast political influence – particularly resonating with Gen Z – the “Shake It Off” hitmaker has yet to officially endorse any presidential candidate for the 2024 election cycle, after backing President Joe Biden in 2020.

Trump shared several deepfake images in the post, which included a propaganda-style poster of Swift dressed like Uncle Sam, pointing to the viewer and overlaid with the message: “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump”.

Trump later shared a conspiracy theorist video that suggested that Swift fans who formerly voted Democrat have switched allegiance to Republicans after a string of canceled concerts following a foiled terror plot in Vienna.

The Tesla CEO has already publicly endorsed Trump in the US presidential election
The Tesla CEO has already publicly endorsed Trump in the US presidential election (AP)

“If Trump was in office, this would have never, never happened,” the woman says in the video, despite the three cancelled Eras Tour shows being in Austria – not the US.

There is no hard evidence to suggest which way Swift or her fans are voting.

Trump also posted another AI-generated image on Sunday, which showed Harris speaking to a crowd of communists with a huge banner adorned with the Soviet Union hammer and sickle in the background.

Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of Kamala Harris presiding over a USSR-like rally after calling her a communist during a rally speech
Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of Kamala Harris presiding over a USSR-like rally after calling her a communist during a rally speech (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

Musk interviewed Trump on X Spaces last week, though critics have called it more of a “friendly chat” rather than a grilling of the Republican presidential hopeful, where he admitted to ramping up his involvement in politics this year.

“I’ve not been very political before,” he said.

After acquiring X, Musk reinstated the accounts of people who were previously banned and dismantled the social media platform’s fact-checking features.

Among them, Trump’s X account was restored and the former president has returned to posting on the platform again.

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