Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said “he certainly would” consider Tesla CEO and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to a cabinet or advisory role. Trump’s statement comes as Musk openly endorsed Trump in the Presidential elections, and even hosted an interview with the former President on his social media platform X.
On whether he would be open to naming Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a cabinet or advisory role, Trump told Reuters in an interview on Monday: “He’s a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He’s a brilliant guy.”
Interestingly, Musk reacted to Trump’s statement. “I am willing to serve,” the Tesla CEO said.
However, Trump’s following statement on EV credit may not be something Musk would appreciate. Trump said he would consider scrapping $7,500 federal subsidies for electric vehicles, which could hurt Tesla and Musk. “Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing,” Trump added.
It is said that Trump could repeal the rules that help automakers take advantage of the $7,500 credit. “I’m a big fan of electric cars, but I’m a fan of gasoline-propelled cars, and also hybrids and whatever else happens to come along.”
Though both share a good rapport now, the mutual admiration wasn’t always there. Musk was once a sharp critic of Trump. “I don’t hate the man,” Elon Musk tweeted in July 2022, “but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.” Musk’s reaction came after Trump accused him of lying to him about who he voted for in the last presidential election.
The Tesla CEO had often been at the receiving end of Trump’s rant, with the former president even stating that “Musk won’t buy Twitter”. Musk went on to buy the social media platform and even used it to endorse Trump’s Republican arch-rival, Ron DeSantis. But, things have since changed and Musk is actively endorsing Trump, especially after his relationship with President Biden soured over issues including unions in Tesla. Biden did not invite Musk to the 2021 White House electric vehicle summit despite Tesla being one of the world’s largest EV manufacturers, much to Musk’s chagrin. Musk then went on to publicly say that he won’t vote for Biden. Things warmed between Musk and Trump after the duo met at the latter’s Florida resort. Soon after the assassination attempt on Trump, Musk tweeted: “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”
Donald Trump’s United States presidential campaign has said that some of its internal communications were hacked and blamed the Iranian government, citing past hostilities between Trump and Iran without providing direct evidence.
The Republican’s campaign statement came shortly after news website Politico reported it had begun receiving emails in July from an anonymous source offering authentic documents from inside Trump’s operation, including a report about running mate JD Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities”.
“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Last night, Trump posted on his Truth Social app that Microsoft had just informed the campaign that Iran had hacked one of its websites. He cast blame on Iran, adding they were “only able to get publicly available information”. He did not elaborate further on the hack.
Reuters has not independently verified the identity of the alleged hackers or their motivation.
The Trump campaign referred to a Friday report from Microsoft researchers that said Iranian government-tied hackers tried breaking into the account of a “high-ranking official” on a U.S. presidential campaign in June.
The hackers had taken over an account belonging to a former political advisor and then used it to target the official, the report said. That report did not provide further details on the targets’ identities.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to name the targeted officials or provide additional details after the report was published.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will try to show swing voters that his likely new rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, has her fingerprints all over two issues he is counting on for victory in November – immigration and the cost of living.
Sources within the Trump campaign said it will cast Harris, the likely Democratic candidate after President Joe Biden quit the race on Sunday, as the “co-pilot” of administration polices it says are behind both sources of voter discontent.
Biden’s sudden exit and endorsement of Harris has upended the race, just eight days after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally.
Sources told Reuters that Trump’s campaign had for weeks been preparing for Harris should Biden drop out and she wins her party’s nomination.
“Harris will be easier to beat than Joe Biden would have been,” Trump told CNN shortly after Biden’s announcement on Sunday.
Trump’s campaign has signaled it will tie her as tightly as possible to Biden’s immigration policy, which Republicans say is to blame for a sharp increase in the numbers of people crossing the southern border with Mexico illegally.
The second line of attack will revolve around the economy, they say.
Public opinion polls consistently show Americans are unhappy with high food and fuel costs as well as interest rates that have made buying a home less affordable.
“She’s the co-pilot of the Biden vision,” said one Trump adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity during last week’s Republican National Convention, where a unified party anointed Trump as its nominee in the White House race.
“If they want to switch to Biden 2.0 and have ‘Cackling’ Kamala at the top of the ticket, we’re good either way,” the adviser said, repeating an insult the campaign has been trying out for weeks focused on how the vice president laughs.
Make America Great Again Inc, a super PAC backing Trump, said on Sunday it was pulling anti-Biden television ads that had been set to run in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania and replacing them with an ad attacking Harris.
The 30-second ad accuses Harris of hiding Biden’s infirmity from the public, and it seeks to pin the administration’s record solely on her.
“Kamala knew Joe couldn’t do the job, so she did it. Look what she got done: a border invasion, runaway inflation, the American Dream dead,” the narrator says.
Trump, known for using insulting and sometimes offensive language to attack his opponents, gave supporters at a rally in Michigan on Saturday a taste of the insults he is likely to fling at Harris in the coming days.
“I call her laughing Kamala. You ever watch a laugh? She’s crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. She’s crazy. She’s nuts,” he said.
The Democratic Party has yet to determine how to move forward, and there is as yet no guarantee that Harris will emerge as the party’s nominee even with Biden’s endorsement.
Harris as the Democratic nominee would alter the race in perhaps unforeseen ways, political strategists said.
A 59-year-old woman who is Black and Asian-American would fashion an entirely new dynamic with Trump, 78, offering a vivid generational and cultural split-screen.
The United States has yet to elect a woman president in its 248-year history.
Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist and longtime congressional aide, said Harris would be able to mount “a more energetic campaign with excitement from younger voters and people of color” after Biden struggled to energise these important Democratic Party voting blocs.
A former prosecutor and California attorney general as well as a former U.S. senator, Harris would be able to use “her years of litigation experience to effectively prosecute Trump in the court of public opinion,” Mollineau said.
Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist, cautioned that it would be a mistake for the Trump campaign to assume Harris could serve as a simple stand-in for Biden, because of her potential appeal to different parts of the electorate.
Recent polls have shown Harris to be competitive with Trump.
In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Harris and Trump were tied with 44 per cent support each in a July 15-16 Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Before Sunday, the Trump campaign had already begun discussions about how they would redeploy campaign resources should Biden drop out of the race, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Jeanette Hoffman, a Republican political consultant, said even with the contrasts Harris would bring to the ticket, her close ties to Biden would be a drag on her candidacy.
Harris “doesn’t represent the change America is looking for,” Hoffman said.
MAGA Inc CEO Taylor Budowich said his group had commissioned opposition research on several possible Democratic candidates.
“MAGA Inc is prepared for all outcomes of a Democrat Party who has only brought chaos and failure,” he said.
Former United States President and Republican Party presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has predicted an “incredible victory” ahead of the November presidential election and called for national unity among Americans.
Trump officially accepted the party’s presidential nomination, describing the upcoming election as a “historical election” and expressing his desire to be the president for all Americans.
“Tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States,” Trump declared during his acceptance speech at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, concluding the four-day event.
This speech was his first since surviving an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. The attack left him bloodied after a gunman shot in his direction.
The energy among delegates sagged as Trump discussed his policy proposals and asked for their votes, promising not to disappoint them.
“Tonight for your partnership, for your support, and I am humbly asking for your vote,” he said. He emphasized his commitment to making America great again and not letting down his supporters.
“Make our country great again. Every day, I will strive to honor the trust you have placed in me, and I will never, ever let you down. I promise that I will never let you down. To all of the forgotten men and women who have been neglected, abandoned and left behind, you will be forgotten no longer. We will press forward and together we will win, win, win,” Trump asserted.
In his speech, which lasted more than an hour and a half, Trump concluded with a promise to ‘very quickly make America great again.’
“We will save this country. We will restore the Republic, and we will usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrows that our people so truly deserve. America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, brighter, happier, stronger, freer, greater and more united than ever before and quite simply put, we will very quickly make America great again,” he proclaimed, to which the crowd erupted into applause. Melania Trump and the rest of his family then joined him on stage.
Earlier, the 78-year-old former president detailed the failed assassination attempt, stating he heard a loud sound hitting him “hard” on his right ear, adding that “it can only be a bullet.”
He attributed his survival to divine grace. “As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life. So many people have asked me what happened, tell us what happened, please. And, therefore I will tell you exactly what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s actually too painful to tell,” he said.
Trump described the critical moment before the shot: “The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together. I’m only standing here by the grace of Almighty God,”
Referring to the Secret Service, he said, “They’re incredible people. Bullets were flying over us, yet I felt serene, but now the Secret Service agents were putting themselves in peril. They were in very dangerous territory. Bullets were flying right over them, missing them by a very small amount of inches, and then it all stopped. Our Secret Service sniper, from a much greater distance and with only one bullet used, took the assassin’s life, took them out,”
Trump showcased a chart titled “Illegal immigration into the US,” which had been displayed at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, just before the assassination attempt.
“That was the chart that saved my life,” Trump remarked onstage at the convention five days later.
“You know the chart? Oh, there it is. That’s pretty good. Wow. Last time I put up that chart, I never really got to look at it. But without that chart, I would not be here today,”
Trump honored the man killed in the failed assassination attempt by briefly stepping away from the podium to kiss the helmet of Corey Comperatore, which, along with his firefighter’s jacket, stood behind him.
The speech also included attacks on Democrats for “weaponizing the justice system,” despite his well-documented attempts to overturn the 2020 election, insisting he is a defender of democracy.
“We are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. And we must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement, which is what’s been happening in our country lately at a level that nobody has ever seen before.
“In that spirit, the Democrat party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their political opponent as an enemy of democracy. Especially since that is not true. In fact, I am the one saving democracy for the people of our country,” Trump stated.
Introducing his running mate, JD Vance, Trump briefly described him as a “great, great student at Yale, his wife was a great student at Yale, they met at Yale. These are two smart people,”
He also attacked former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, describing her as “crazy Nancy.”
“Crazy Nancy Pelosi, the whole thing, just, boom, boom, boom. They’ve got to stop that, because they’re destroying our country. We have to work on making America great again, not on beating people. And we won. We beat them and all we beat them on the impeachments. We beat them on indictments,” he said.
Referring to the 2020 election, Trump claimed ‘they use Covid to cheat.’
As he recited a long list of policy proposals, the former president said: “And then we had that horrible, horrible result that we’ll never let happen again, the election result. We’re never going to let that happen again. They use Covid to cheat. You’re never going to let it happen again,”
Before Trump took the stage, it was reported by multiple outlets that he would not say Joe Biden’s name.
“And I say it often, if you took the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States think of it, the 10 worst added them up, they will not have done the damage that Biden has done. Only going to use the term once, Biden, I’m not going to use the name anymore, just one time,” he said.
Trump promised to lower prices for Americans after a historic period of inflation under Joe Biden.
“We must get economic relief to our citizens. Starting on day one, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again. Republicans have a plan to bring down prices and bring them down very, very rapidly. By slashing energy costs, we will, in turn, reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing and all household goods. So much starts with energy. And remember, we have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country,” he said.
Describing the migration of other nations to the United States as an “invasion”, Trump promised to drill and close the borders on his first day in office.
“At the heart of the Republican platform is our pledge to end this border nightmare and fully restore the sacred and sovereign borders of the United States of America. We’re going to do that on day one. That means two things on day one, right: drill, baby, drill and close our borders,“Drill, baby, drill. Close our borders. Tonight, this is my vow, I will not allow these criminals into our country,”
Trump also vowed to have “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country,” hypothesising that crime is dropping in Central American countries like El Salvador because “they’re sending their murders to the United States of America.”
He noted that his deportations would be “even larger than that of President Dwight D. Eisenhower from many years ago. You know, he was a moderate but he believed very strongly in borders. He had the largest deportation operation we’ve ever had,”
Trump concluded by telling voters ‘your expectations are not big enough’ and centering on the promise of better days ahead.
“For too long, our nation has settled for too little. We settle for too little. We’ve given everything to other nations, to other people. You have been told to lower your expectations and to accept less for your families. I am here tonight with the opposite message. Your expectations are not big enough.
“The assassin in Pennsylvania wanted to stop our movement. But the truth is, the movement has never been about me. It has always been about you. It’s your movement. The biggest movement in the history of our country, by far, can’t be stopped.”
James David Vance, Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, yesterday at the Republican National Convention showered Trump with praises over his handling of the failed assassination attempt against him.
“He can stand defiant against an assassin one moment and call for national healing the next.
“He is a beloved father and grandfather,” Vance told the crowd in what was his first speech after being officially nominated the Republican’s vice presidential candidate.
“They said he was a tyrant. They said he must be stopped at all costs. But how did he respond?
“He called for national unity, for national calm, literally, right after an assassin nearly took his life,” Vance said of Trump.
Vance, a senator from Ohio 40 years younger than Trump, is a rising star within the Republican Party; he is a veteran of the Iraq War, a Yale-educated lawyer and former venture capitalist.
At the beginning of his speech, the 39-year-old officially accepted his nomination as Trump’s running mate for the Nov. 5, election.
Vance was not always a loyal Trump ally once even going so far as to call himself “a Never Trump guy.”
When he was promoting his bestselling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” on poverty and drug addiction that afflicts poor white communities where he came from in Middletown Ohio, Vance wrote a blistering essay describing Trump as cultural heroin and a new pain reliever.
“I think that he’s noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place,” he said in a separate interview that same year.
Vance later renounced his criticism and, with Trump’s support, won the race for a U.S. Senate seat from Ohio in 2022.
Also yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Vance over his stance on the war in Ukraine.
The war was launched by Moscow more than two years ago.
Vance, a senator from Ohio, was in favour of peace and an end to military aid for Ukraine, Lavrov said at the UN in New York yesterday.
In a surprising turn of events at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, former contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, have endorsed Donald Trump as the party’s candidate for the upcoming November election.
Both Haley and DeSantis emphasised the urgency of a unified Republican front under Trump’s leadership, portraying the upcoming election as pivotal for the future of the United States.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s former United Nations ambassador, took to the stage amid a mix of cheers and boos, emphasising unity within the Republican Party under Trump’s leadership.
“Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period,” Haley declared, setting the tone for her endorsement speech.
Citing concerns over Joe Biden’s debate performance and the potential succession of Kamala Harris, Haley said: “If we have four more years of Biden or even a single day of Harris, our country will be badly worse off.”
She criticised the Biden administration’s handling of immigration, labeling it as the biggest threat facing Americans today.
“Look at the border, it’s the single biggest threat Americans face under Joe Biden,” Haley warned.
“Migrants are coming into our country by the thousands every day. We have no idea who they are, where they end up, or what they plan to do.”
Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis echoed Haley’s sentiments, attributing his state’s shift to a solid Republican stronghold to Trump’s leadership.
“Today, due to bold leadership, the Democratic party lies in ruins. The left is in retreat. Freedom reigns supreme,” DeSantis proclaimed.
He emphasised the importance of re-electing Trump to replicate Florida’s successes nationwide.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference where he signed the state budget into law a day after a federal court judge ruled restrictions on medical care for transgender children unconstitutional in Tampa, Florida, U.S., June 12, 2024. REUTERS/Octavio Jones
DeSantis also took aim at Biden’s administration policies, particularly on voting rights and immigration.
“We believe that you must be a citizen in order to vote, and that photo ID should be required before casting a ballot,” DeSantis asserted, criticising what he termed as Biden’s support for open borders and immigration policies.
The Florida governor didn’t shy away from addressing Biden’s age either, drawing parallels to the comedy: “Weekend at Bernie’s” to underscore the need for a commander-in-chief who can lead without reservation. America cannot afford four more years of a Weekend at Bernie’s presidency,”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has made a decisive move in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, announcing Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his vice presidential pick.
Trump revealed his choice through a statement on his social media platform, Truth Social, underscoring Vance’s qualifications and dedication to American values.
“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump affirmed.
JD Vance, a prominent figure in both public service and literature, has earned acclaim for his diverse accomplishments.
A native of Ohio, Vance’s commitment to service began with his tenure in the United States Marine Corps, reflecting a deep-seated patriotism that has defined his career. His academic prowess is equally noteworthy, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Ohio State University and subsequently earning a degree from Yale Law School, where he distinguished himself as Editor of The Yale Law Journal and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association.
Trump highlighted Vance’s influential work “Hillbilly Elegy,” which soared to critical acclaim as both a best-selling book and a major motion picture. The memoir resonated widely for its portrayal of the challenges faced by working-class Americans, cementing Vance’s reputation as a voice for neglected communities.
“The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin,” he stated, calling for peaceful resolution of political conflicts.
Olawepo-Hashim Condemns Assassination Attempt
Former Nigerian Presidential Candidate Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim condemned the assassination attempt on Trump.
In a statement released by his media team, Olawepo-Hashim expressed gratitude for Trump’s survival and sympathy for the victims’ families.
He highlighted the ongoing issue of political violence, drawing parallels to past incidents involving J.F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
“I also sympathize with the families of the victims of the shooting. The unfortunate incident, he added, is reminiscent of the assassination of J F Kennedy and attempted killing of President Ronald Regan, is a sad reminder that political violence remains a critical issue in one of the world’s most advanced democracies, as it is a worldwide phenomenon.
“The assassination attempt is condemnable and every lover of democracy must work for unity and peace to remove the toxicity in the atmosphere that breeds this sort of barbaric act.”
NNPP Chief Optimistic of Trump’s Victory
Olufemi Ajadi, a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), expressed optimism about Trump’s victory in the upcoming election despite the assassination attempt.
Ajadi condemned the attack and called for increased security around Trump and his campaign team. He criticized Joe Biden’s tenure and predicted a win for Trump, citing his pragmatic handling of the economy and other policies during his first term.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his vice presidential pick.
Trump revealed his choice through a statement on his social media platform, underscoring Vance’s qualifications and dedication to American values.
“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump affirmed.
JD Vance, a prominent figure in public service and literature, has earned acclaim for his diverse accomplishments.
A native of Ohio, Vance’s commitment to service began with his tenure in the United States Marine Corps, reflecting a deep-seated patriotism that has defined his career.
His academic prowess is equally noteworthy, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Ohio State University and subsequently earning a degree from Yale Law School, where he distinguished himself as Editor of The Yale Law Journal and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association.
Trump highlighted Vance’s influential work “Hillbilly Elegy,” which soared to critical acclaim as both a best-selling book and a major motion picture. The memoir resonated widely for its portrayal of the challenges faced by working-class Americans, cementing Vance’s reputation as a voice for neglected communities.
“JD’s book, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country,” Trump noted.
Beyond his literary achievements, Vance has enjoyed a successful career in technology and finance, bringing a wealth of private sector experience to his new role.
Trump expressed confidence in Vance’s ability to champion the interests of American workers and farmers, particularly in crucial states pivotal to electoral success.
“JD has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond,” Trump emphasised.
