United States President-elect Donald Trump has addressed growing concerns about tech billionaire Elon Musk’s influence within his incoming administration.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters during a rally in Arizona on Sunday, Trump dismissed claims that he had “ceded the presidency” to the billionaire entrepreneur, calling it another “hoax” spread by his political rivals.
The incident was the latest in which Musk has taken an atypically large role in the incoming Trump administration, prompting criticism from Democrats and from within Trump’s Republican party.
Referring to memes and rumours circulating in social media, Trump told the audience, “No, no. That’s not happening. He’s not gonna be president.”
He joked about Musk’s South African birthplace, adding, “You know why he can’t be, he wasn’t born in this country.”
Trump noted that there is no risk of Musk officially taking over as president because he would be constitutionally barred from doing so.
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