Comment Days after former President Donald Trump claimed Elon Musk lied about voting for him, the billionaire CEO of Tesla said Monday that Trump should “hang up his hat and sail off into the sunset,” adding that he was too old for another possible presidential run. in 2024. Speaking at an event in Alaska on Saturday, Trump referred to a tweet in which Musk, who is trying to close his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, wrote that he recently voted for a Republican for the first time last month. “He said the other day, ‘Oh, I’ve never voted Republican.’ I said, ‘I didn’t know that,’” Trump said at the Anchorage rally for Alaska Republicans Sarah Palin and Gov. Mike Dunleavy. “He told me he voted for me, so he’s another dirty artist.” Musk responded to a video of Trump’s remarks in a series of tweets Monday night. “I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat and sail off into the sunset,” Musk tweeted. I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat and sail off into the sunset. Democrats should also stop the attack – don’t make it so that Trump’s only way to survive is to regain the Presidency. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022 Musk also called on Democrats to “cancel the attack” and not focus on whether Trump decides to run for the White House again. “Don’t make it so that the only way for Trump to survive is to retake the presidency,” said Musk, who has previously noted that he is leaning toward supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis in 2024 if the Republican were to run for president. While again offering his support to DeSantis, the billionaire emphasized that Trump would be too old to be president. “Trump would be 82 at the end of the term, which is way too old to be CEO of anything, let alone the United States of America,” Musk wrote. A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Tuesday. Musk’s tweets against Trump come as Twitter sets the stage for a legal battle with the billionaire to force a takeover he wasn’t even sure he wanted. As the company’s stock fell another 11.3% after Musk announced on Friday that he was pulling out of a deal to buy Twitter, the social media giant’s board is expected to file a lawsuit in a Delaware court as soon as this week. to keep the Tesla CEO on the hook. Musk’s lawyers argue he has the right to walk away from the $44 billion deal because Twitter hasn’t given him enough information about the company’s business. Twitter shares sink as it prepares for messy court battle with Elon Musk The standoff between Musk and Twitter unfolds as Trump continues to lash out at the House committee investigating plans for a Jan. 6, 2021, coup. The seventh public hearing on Tuesday is expected to focus on how Trump and his allies invited far-right militant groups to Washington as he became increasingly desperate to hold on to power. The committee is expected to argue that Trump used the date of the congressional vote count, January 6, 2021, to prevent a peaceful transfer of power. The Jan. 6 hearing is expected to focus on the link between the fighters, White House Shortly after it was announced that Musk was buying Twitter, he said in May that he would rescind the company’s ban on Trump. Twitter had banned Trump’s account after the riot on Capitol Hill, citing the “risk of further inciting violence.” Although Trump said he would not rejoin Twitter, Musk said the move was “a mistake.” “I think it was wrong to ban Donald Trump. I think it was a mistake,” Musk said at a May 10 event hosted by the Financial Times. “It alienated a large part of the country, and ultimately it didn’t result in Donald Trump not having a voice.” On Saturday, Trump, who has continued to make false allegations of voter fraud, said a top priority for Republicans should be to “end left-wing censorship and restore free speech in America.” As he urged supporters to sign up for his social media company, Truth Social — “It’s hot as a gun” — Trump turned his attention to Musk and Twitter. “Who the hell knows what’s going to happen?” Trump said. “He’s got a pretty rotten contract. I looked at his contract, not a good contract.” Trump then attacked Musk for allegedly telling the former president he voted for him. Musk donated to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records, and tweeted in May that he voted for Clinton in 2016 and President Biden in 2020. Musk also tweeted that he voted for Republican Myra Flores, which won the election last month in the heavily Hispanic, blue-leaning 34th Congressional District in South Texas. When a conservative media personality took issue with Musk’s tweet that Trump should “hang up his hat and sail off into the sunset,” the billionaire said the former president had “a lot of drama” with him. “Do we really want a bull in a china shop every day!?” Musk wrote. “Also, I think the legal upper age limit for starting a presidential term should be 69.” There is no upper age limit for candidates seeking the presidency. If Trump ran and was the GOP nominee, he would be 78 on Election Day. Biden would be about two weeks shy of his 82nd birthday on Election Day in November 2024. Musk went on to claim that if DeSantis ran against Biden, “then DeSantis will win easily — he doesn’t even have to campaign.” Rachel Lerman, Yiwen Lu, Jacqueline Alemany and Hannah Allam contributed to this report.
