US President-elect Donald Trump on December 22 answered a question about whether billionaire Elon Musk could one day become president.
"He will not be president, I can tell you that," Mr. Trump said at a Republican convention in the Arizona state capital Phoenix, according to AFP.
"You know why he can't? He wasn't born in this country," Trump said of billionaire Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX.
US President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk watch SpaceX's sixth Starship rocket launch in Texas on November 19.
Mr Musk was born in South Africa. The US Constitution requires that a president be a natural-born citizen of the country.
When asked whether he would cede the presidency to Mr Musk, Mr Trump also stressed: "No, that's not going to happen." There is currently no information about Mr Musk's reaction.
Mr Trump made the statement in response to criticism, especially from Democrats, about the outsized role Mr Musk will play in the upcoming US administration. Mr Musk has been chosen by President-elect Trump to lead the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new agency charged with reforming the government's bureaucracy.
Mr Musk's influence has become a focus of attack by Democrats, with questions raised about how an unelected citizen can wield so much power.
Democrats have described billionaire Musk as unstable and paranoid and hope calling him "President Musk" will anger Mr Trump, according to AFP.
Democratic congressman Jim McGovern said “at least we know who is responsible”. “He is the president and Mr Trump is now the vice president,” Mr McGovern said.
There was even growing anger among Republicans after Mr Musk criticised a government spending proposal last week, according to AFP.
Along with Mr Trump, Mr Musk helped pressure Republicans to abandon a spending bill they had worked hard to agree with Democrats, a move that threatened to shut down the US government just days before Christmas.
Finally, the US Congress reached an agreement on the night of December 20 and early morning of December 21, helping to avoid a mass shutdown of government services.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lieu-co-mot-ngay-ti-phu-elon-musk-thanh-tong-thong-my-185241223065335585.htm
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