Trump goes on angry tirade after leaked claims that Elon Musk would be briefed on war with China
Washington DC - President Donald Trump has brutally shot down rumors that he had planned to brief Elon Musk on top-secret government plans for how to respond to a war with China.
"The Fake News is at it again, this time the Failing New York Times," Trump said in a ranting post on Truth Social, in reference to an article by The New York Times (NYT) that claimed Musk will be involved with discussions about China.
The NYT claimed, based on anonymous leaks from US officials, that Trump set up a briefing for Musk at the Pentagon on Friday in which officials would reveal the military's plans on how to handle a potential war with China.
The report claimed that Musk would have viewed a 20-30 slide briefing on likely Chinese targets at the outbreak of war, and how the US plans to counter such an act of aggression.
"They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential 'war with China,'" Trump said.
"China will not even be mentioned or discussed. How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!"
Trump continues his unhinged social media tirade
In a follow-up rant, Trump called the NYT "one of the worst and most purposely inaccurate newspapers anywhere in the world."
He also railed against claims that Musk has a conflict of interest due to business dealings in China.
Trump then went after CNN for picking up and reporting on the story – a standard practice in international journalism – teasing them for low ratings and claiming that "nobody was watching."
"Maggot Hagerman, the really dumb 'scammer' who constantly writes about me for the Times, using anonymous, made up (nonexistent!) sources, and who I haven’t spoken to in ages, is a big part of the Scam," Trump said.
Much of Trump's rant was difficult to understand, full of grammatical errors and inconsistencies. At one point he went on to claim that he was owed a Pulitzer Prize.
"The Fake News is the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE," he wrote. "And Elon is NOT BEING BRIEFED ON ANYTHING CHINA BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR!!!"
Cover photo: AFP/Roberto Schmidt