US Politics
Elon Musk leaps to Donald Trump’s defense following WSJ ‘hit piece’
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Elon Musk rushed to Donald Trump’s defense after a damning Wall Street Journal report detailed a lewd birthday letter the president allegedly presented to Jeffrey Epstein.
The tech billionaire has repeatedly demanded the release of the unredacted documents related to the disgraced financier’s sex-trafficking case since dropping the “really big bomb” last month, a baseless claim that Trump was withholding the files because they implicated him.
After the Journal described on Thursday a birthday card that appeared to be signed by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday, Musk abruptly shifted gears, coming to the former president’s defense.
“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the message read, according to the newspaper. The report states text is surrounded by a drawing of a naked woman, punctuated by a squiggly “Donald” mimicking pubic hair.
Hours after the report’s release, the president’s former first buddy said: “It really doesn’t sound like something Trump would say tbh.”
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Musk retweeted a summary from his AI tool, Grok, casting doubt over the authenticity of the birthday card. In another similar Grok summary, he replied with a fire emoji.
Trump denied having anything to do with the card, claiming, “I never wrote a picture in my life.”
“I don’t draw pictures of women,” he told the Journal. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
He also threatened to sue the Journal if the story was published – a threat he has now vowed to act upon. In a Truth Social post on Thursday night, the president stated that he plans to sue the newspaper, its parent company, News Corp, and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, soon.
“The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” Trump wrote, referring to himself in the third person.
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“Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so,” he continued. “The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that. Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway.”
The president also described several lawsuits he has filed against the press, including ABC and CBS, which were settled.
The report comes as the Trump administration continues to face backlash after a Department of Justice and FBI memo released last week stated that there was no evidence that Epstein had a “client list.”
Trump has since dismissed Epstein’s case as a “hoax,” a “scam,” and “bull****.”
He has accused his Democratic predecessors and former officials of fabricating documents related to the case, while chastising some of his MAGA base calling for the files’ release, branding them as “weaklings.”
As constituents apply pressure on the GOP to provide more transparency around the Epstein files, House Republicans voted down a Democratic amendment Thursday night.
Lawmakers attempted to advance a bipartisan bill calling for the full release of documents related to the convicted sex offender’s case.
Early Friday morning, Musk admitted on X that it would be “hard to accept a clean bill not going to a vote.”
