PHOENIX – President-elect Donald Trump has dismissed any suggestion that he is being usurped by his high-profile billionaire ally Elon Musk, following a week in which Musk helped derail an emergency spending measure to avert a government shutdown.
Trump said the idea that he “ceded the presidency” to Musk is a fiction and that even if Musk wanted the job, he couldn’t get it because of the Constitution’s requirement that the U.S. president be a natural-born citizen. Musk was born in South Africa.
“No, he’s not going to be president, I can tell you that,” Trump said. ‘And I’m safe. Do you know why he can’t be? He was not born in this country.”
Trump spoke for more than an hour at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix on Sunday, as thousands of conservative activists cheered wildly as he took the stage amid a pyrotechnic display. It was his first rally-style event since the election.
Smoke billowed around the lectern and sparklers shot from the floor as the crowd stood and cheered the incoming president, who wore his signature suit and overlong red tie.
“Trump! Trump! Trump!” the crowd sang.
“America’s golden age is upon us,” Trump said.
In his remarks, Trump also said Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to meet with him “as soon as possible” and called for an end to the “terrible,” terrible war between Russia and Ukraine.
During the campaign, Trump said he would quickly end the war, using influence and power he believes he has gained from both Putin and Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He raised another foreign policy issue, repeating a warning he made on social media Saturday that Panama charges excessive fees for use of the Panama Canal, the passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans .
If Panama does not relent, Trump said he would push to regain control of the canal, which the U.S. relinquished under a treaty signed by then-President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
“We’re getting ripped off at the Panama Canal, just like we’re getting ripped off everywhere else,” Trump said.
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino posted on social media on Sunday that the canal is owned by Panama and that the country’s sovereignty is non-negotiable.
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will remain so,” he said in his video message. “The sovereignty and independence of our country is non-negotiable. … It is part of our history of struggle and irreversible victory.”
Trump also outlined a new plan for a campaign-style advertising campaign aimed at discouraging drug use.
“We’re going to advertise how bad drugs are for you,” Trump said. “They ruin your looks, they ruin your face, they ruin your skin. They ruin your teeth. If you want to have terrible teeth, take lots of fentanyl.”
Trump’s appearance at the conference followed a tense standoff in Washington, D.C., over the past week that nearly led to a government shutdown.
Trump and Musk effectively scuttled Republican Chairman Mike Johnson’s proposed emergency spending measure, forcing lawmakers to find an acceptable alternative that would keep the government running for hours before the shutdown took effect.
Musk, owner of the social media site
The Democrats mockingly call him ‘President Musk’. History shows that anyone who upsets Trump or diverts attention from him does not stay in his job for long.
Still, Trump’s comments suggest he doesn’t want a break with Musk; for now, the two have shared interests. Musk spent more than $250 million to get Trump elected.
After his victory, Trump tapped Musk to lead a new non-governmental office with a mission to reduce government costs and inefficiencies. Looking ahead, Musk’s wealth could help keep Republicans in Trump’s fold. Any Republican lawmaker tempted to defy Trump might fear the new president would stage a Musk-funded primary challenge.
Speakers at the conference downplayed any friction between Musk and Trump.
In a speech Thursday evening, Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s eldest son, said: “You see what the media is trying to do to break the relationship that my father has with Elon. They’re trying to create that schism to prevent these guys from doing what they do best, and we can’t allow that.”
Another speaker, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said in an interview with NBC News that Musk has an important role in helping eliminate government waste.
“We’re bringing in a private sector consultant to take a fresh look at what we’re spending money on,” Mullin said.
As for Musk’s use of his social media platform, Mullin said: “He has the right to do it. He is still a private individual. He is no different than anyone else.”
Less than a month before the 45th president becomes the 47th, Trump appeared to be in good spirits. After calling Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to the stage, Trump scanned the crowd and didn’t see him at first.
‘Is he here somewhere? Ted? Ted?” Trump said. “Oh, oh, he’s in trouble.” Then Cruz emerged from backstage and the two shook hands and hugged.
At another point, Trump heard a strange noise on stage. “What the hell was that?” he said. “You get the little yips here every now and then.”
Trump, who faced two assassination attempts during the campaign, added: “I wonder why.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
