Donald Trump hilariously shuts down claims Elon Musk could be US president — you won’t believe why!

US President-elect Donald Trump targeted his opponents on Sunday for saying that he "has ceded his presidency to Elon Musk." In a speech, Trump laughed off the claims that Elon Musk would be taking the next US presidency.

"That's not happening," Trump said while speaking at the Turning Point USA Summit on Sunday. He joked while saying that Musk can't be president anyway since he wasn't born in the US.

He, however, commended Musk for doing an "amazing job". He said, "It's nice to have some smart people to rely on..."

"But no, he's not gonna be president, that I can tell you. You know why? He can't be because he wasn't born in this country, hahaha," Trump said.

Trump's statement came days after Congressman Robert Garcia posted on X, alleging that “Donald Trump is now clearly the Vice-President”. He wrote, “Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency, where Donald Trump is now clearly the Vice-President. They want a government shutdown that would hurt millions of Americans. It’s totally insane.”

What Elon Musk said about his presidential candidature

Earlier, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk had said that he can't be the president as, "My grandfather was American, but I was born in Africa, so I cannot be president." He said this in response to a question about his intention to run for President in 2028. 

Around October 21, Musk had said, "I don't wanna be in politics. I wanna be clear. That is not my preference. I just like building stuff… I actually don't like politics at all. I hate politics. But the stakes are so high here that I have had no choice but to take a stand.”

Elon Musk's X factor and DOGE

Elon Musk is said to be the X-factor in the upcoming Donald Trump administration. The businessman has been a vocal Trump supporter and now sits at the centre of Trump’s policy universe. 

President-Elect Donald Trump announced on November 13 that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.).

President-Elect Trump said, "Elon Musk has been working very hard with Vivek to eliminate hundreds of billions in waste and fraud.. We’re looking to save maybe $2T. It will have no impact on people’s livelihoods like Medicare or social security. Just waste, fraud, and abuse”.

Elon Musk had extensively campaigned for Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential elections. Musk had earlier said he is "happy to be first buddy" to US President-elect Donald Trump. He even earned "uncle" status in the Trump family, as he increasingly spends time at Mar-a-Lago.