What's New
President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that he was "safe" from his tech billionaire ally Elon Musk being president since he "wasn't born in this country."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's transition team via email for comment and X, formerly Twitter, via email for comment from Musk Sunday afternoon.
Why It Matters
Musk, the owner of car manufacturer Tesla and social media platform X, has been tapped by Trump to lead the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, after vocally supporting and financially backing his campaign for president.
Some Democratic lawmakers have suggested that Musk has become more than the future co-leader of DOGE and is functioning as a de facto leader of the Republican Party after a bipartisan spending bill fell through this week following his public criticism of it. In an effort to criticize Musk's apparent power over the GOP, some Democrats on Capitol Hill have called the tech billionaire "president."
What To Know
During an appearance at conservative group Turning Point USA's annual "AmericaFest" conference in Phoenix on Sunday, Trump said Musk is "not taking the presidency."
He then mentioned some "hoaxes" currently being spun. "The new one is President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk. No, no, that's not happening," he said.
"He's not going to be president. That I can tell you. And I'm safe. You know why? He can't be. He wasn't born in this country," the president-elect said minutes later about Musk with a chuckle.
A person cannot run for the presidency if they were not born in the United States. Musk was born in South Africa and became a U.S. citizen in 2002. So, Musk cannot be president unless the U.S. Constitution is amended to allow others besides natural-born citizens to qualify for the presidency.
What People Are Saying
Musk replied, "Yup" on Friday to an X post written on Friday that read, "The reason the dems keep saying president musk is they are deliberately trying to drive a wedge between musk and trump, appealing to trump's ego. Would be cool to see trump call them out on their obvious ploy."
Fox News' Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones said Friday morning that he had spoken with Trump, saying that the ongoing taunts of "President Elon Musk" from Democratic members of Congress do "not bother the president."
Trump's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt weighed in on critics suggesting Musk is calling the shots in comments to Business Insider: "As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR [continuing resolution], Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view. President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop."
Legal Scholars Weigh In
Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law professor at Georgia State University, told Newsweek via social media direct message on Saturday morning of the possibility of Musk becoming president, "It's not even an open question. Musk is ineligible. Full stop. And there's a zero percent chance of an amendment."
Philip Bobbitt, a distinguished senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in constitutional law, told Newsweek via email Saturday afternoon that there is no other way to interpret the citizenship qualification for the presidency.
"The text, history, and precedents are simply too clear. There might be an 'ethical' argument based on an anti-discrimination commitment but arguments from ethos are principally arguments from constitutional tradition," he said.
When asked if there is any chance of the Constitution being amended to allow others besides natural-born citizens to qualify for the presidency, Bobbitt said, "I would say it is most unlikely."
What Happens Next
While Musk cannot realistically become president, the conversation around his apparent influence over the GOP gives insight into the friction likely to ensue between some Democratic lawmakers and Musk during Trump's second term.
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