Elon Musk Hesitates in Don Lemon Interview When Asked About Trump

Elon Musk appeared to stumble over his words on The Don Lemon Show when asked about Donald Trump.

The episode dropped on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

The Context

Lemon branded Musk the most "touchy" and "sensitive" person he has ever interviewed after their recent sit-down led to the billionaire cutting business ties with the newsman's new show.

Former CNN host Lemon, who was ousted from the network last April, announced in January that he would launch The Don Lemon Show on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that was acquired by Musk in 2022.

However, Lemon revealed in a video shared on X last Wednesday that a partnership with Musk and X had been called off following a tense interview with the entrepreneur intended for the show's debut episode.

"Elon Musk is mad at me," Lemon said in the clip, in which he explained that the deal was off, while he charged that Musk's commitment to "free speech absolutism" faltered when it came to the SpaceX boss facing tough questions. He said that his show would air on multiple platforms, including YouTube and X, adding that the sole change is "my relationship to Musk and X."

What We Know

Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, met with Musk in Florida on March 3 as the former Republican president seeks a major cash infusion for his re-election campaign, per The New York Times.

During the interview posted Monday, Lemon questioned Musk about his relationship with Trump and asked what the pair spoke about when they met up in Florida.

"I was at a dinner—I wasn't at a dinner. I was at a breakfast at a friend's place and Donald Trump came by. That's it," Musk said.

The businessman denied that he went there to meet Trump and when Lemon asked Musk what they discussed, he stumbled over his words and appeared to hesitate before answering the question.

"Let's just say, uh, he did most of the talking," Musk replied. "The normal things he says, there was nothing particularly groundbreaking or new but he, you know, President Trump likes to talk and so we talked. I don't recall him saying anything that he hasn't said anything and uh that was it, it was just a breakfast."

Lemon then asked the billionaire if Trump asked him for money, which Musk denied and the SpaceX CEO said he wouldn't donate to any 2024 presidential candidate.

Newsweek reached out to a representative of Musk and Lemon via email for comment Monday.

Views

Many shared their appreciation for the interview online.

"this was actually a good interview. all don lemon did was challenge musk on his own words/tweets. he did not expect that and got mad then fired the guy. not different from MSM," one X user wrote.

"Enjoyed the interview. Many of us in America are ideologically near the center but the problem is the fringes get clicks/views," said another. "It's possible that both of these men could be right on many of the same issues.

"There is nuance in all of the topics they discussed. We're so blinded by party affiliation or the goal to be on the winning team that we often miss where the other team is coming from. It doesn't always have to be PvP. I find life is much more fulfilling when you have an open mind."

A third person added: "An outstanding episode Don!!"

However, others criticized Lemon's interview style.

"This guy is so bad at interviews. Nice to see him fail so miserably outside his golden womb mainstream censored media," a different X user wrote.

"You should've never been given an opportunity, your 'journalism' is sub par," said another.

"You're an activist pretending to be a journalist," someone else commented.

Update 03/18/24, 8:54 a.m. ET. This article was updated with more information.

Update 03/18/24, 9:48 a.m. ET. This article was updated with further information.