X welcomed back former president Donald Trump on the platform after CEO Elon Musk hosted an interview with Trump on Monday.
Since its release, the interview has been listened to over 26 million times. It covers a variety of topics, from the attempted Trump shooting, the border crisis, and the economy, to Trump’s thoughts on the upcoming presidential election. (READ MORE: Don’t Dismiss the Trump Assassination Attempt)
The European Union sent a letter to Musk, warning X to comply with the EU’s Digital Service Act. “Formal proceedings are already ongoing against X under the DSA, notably linked to the dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of the measures taken to combat disinformation,” EU Chairman Thierry Breton wrote. Musk responded to Breton on X, stating that he would “NEVER do something so rude & irresponsible,” attached to a meme referencing Tropic Thunder.
Prefacing the interview, Musk attributed the 35-minute delay to a DDOS attack, a cyber attack that occurs when fake traffic floods the site and prevents users from entering the webpage. “As this massive attack illustrates, there’s a lot of opposition as to what president Donald Trump has to say,” Musk said.
Throughout the interview, Trump and Musk discussed Trump surviving the attempted shooting last month and criticized the Biden-Harris administration on their handling of a variety of issues, such as foreign policy and the economy. Poking at Harris’ absence in front of the media since announcing her campaign with Walz, Trump stated, “Kamala wouldn’t have this conversation because she’s not as smart.”
The Left and mainstream media outlets criticized the interview. Harris’ campaign criticized the interview, stating that Trump’s campaign serves “self-obsessed rich guys who will sell out the middle class,” despite Musk offering Harris time on X Spaces as well. A USA Today headline called the interview an “unmitigated disaster,” and the New York Times headline described the chat as a “two-hour ramble.” (READ MORE: What Happened to All the Polling?)
After the interview, the United Auto Workers union filed federal labor charges against Musk and Trump for their comments on workers who go on strike. Trump discussed the possibility of a role for Musk in his next administration, and Trump praised Musk for how he handled strikes by automatically firing them. The charges claim that Trump and Musk had gone against protected rights to organize against a company by “suggesting he would fire employees engaged in protected concerted activity, including striking.” Trump’s campaign responded to the union, calling them “Democrat special interest bosses” whose lawsuit “is a shameless political stunt intended to erode President Trump’s overwhelming support among America’s workers.”
Trump’s first post since returning to X read, “Are you better off now than you were when I was president? Our economy is shattered. Our border has been erased. We’re a nation in decline. Make the American Dream AFFORDABLE again. Make America SAFE again. Make America GREAT Again!” Trump was originally barred from the platform’s former owners in 2021, after being accused of inciting violence attributed to the Jan. 6 events. Musk reinstated Trump’s account in 2022 via a poll asking X users if his account should be restored. (READ MORE: Tim Walz, Unreformed Summer Soldier)
In recent weeks, Trump has made appearances with other notable figures besides Musk. Trump has appeared on Logan Paul’s podcast Impaulsive, and streamed with influencer Adin Ross.