- President Donald Trump refuted a New York Times report on Thursday, claiming the Pentagon planned to brief his key advisor Elon Musk on military blueprints for potential war with China. Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday, posting, “China will not even be mentioned or discussed.”
- In another Truth Social post from the president on Friday, he said in part, “Their fake concept of this story is that because Elon does some business in China that he is very conflicted and would immediately go to top Chinese officials and ‘spill the beans.”
- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also went on social media to deny the report, writing that the meeting was “about innovation, efficiencies and smarter production.”
Full Story
President Donald Trump refuted a New York Times report on Thursday, that claimed the Pentagon planned to brief his key advisor Elon Musk on military blueprints for potential war with China.
What did Trump say?
Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday, March 20, posting, “China will not even be mentioned or discussed.”
In another Truth Social post from the president on Friday, March 21, he said in part,” Their fake concept of this story is that because Elon does some business in China that he is very conflicted and would immediately go to top Chinese officials and ‘spill the beans.’”
Trump added that the story is “absolutely ridiculous and false.”
The president also addressed the report in the Oval Office on Friday.
“I certainly wouldn’t want that, you know, Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that, but it was such a fake story,” Trump said. “The New York Times is just as fake as CNN and ‘MSNDC’ and people that saw that story laughed at that story, who would do such a thing?”
What are others in the Trump administration saying?
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also went on social media to deny the report. Hegseth writing that the meeting was “about innovation, efficiencies and smarter production.”
What did The New York Times report claim?
The New York Times reported the meeting with Musk would include dozens of slides laying out U.S. military operations in a hypothetical war with China, citing a pair of anonymous U.S. officials. Access to the reportedly classified plan would signal a major expansion of Musk’s role as an advisor to the president.
What is the bigger picture?
The Trump administration previously said that Musk will recuse himself from any conflicts of interest that come up between his business ventures and his role in the administration.
The U.S. and China traded jabs over technology, cybersecurity issues with apps like TikTok, issues over Taiwans’ sovereignty and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past.
