"Is this a confession that he cheated?" - Internet reacts in disbelief as Donald Trump thanks Elon Musk for help with 'vote-counting' computers

On January 19, 2025, Donald Trump held a pre-inaugural victory rally at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. ahead of his oath-taking ceremony on Monday. During his hour-long speech, the President-elect gave a shoutout to his friend and colleague, Elon Musk, and credited him for his win in the biggest swing state, Pennsylvania, for the 2024 presidential election.

“He journeyed to Pennsylvania, where he spent a month-and-a-half campaigning for me in Pennsylvania, and he’s a popular guy. He was very effective. And he knows those computers better than anybody,” Trump said of Musk.

The real estate mogul continued:

“All those computers. Those vote-counting computers. And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide. So, it was pretty good, pretty good. So, thank you to Elon.”

Immediately after this portion of Donald Trump’s speech circulated online, it triggered conspiracy theories online, with many reacting in disbelief over his “vote-counting” remark. For instance, liberal commentator Art Candee took to X and commented on journalist Aaron Rupar’s post sharing the now-viral clip.

“Is this a confession that he cheated?” Art Candee asked.

Many people joined the conversation and shared similar reactions on the platform.

“Trump confesses to cheating by letting Musk rig the voting machines. But that’s OK. Right?” a person mocked.

“This sounds like an affirmation that Elon stole the election for Trump,” one person wrote.

“We know… this is why Elon knew they won hours before it was called,” wrote another.

Others continued to weigh in and claim Elon Musk was allegedly involved in rigging the election results.

“He always brags about his crimes,” a netizen wrote.

“This is seriously disturbing, and possibly a crime committed. Someone must investigate. We’ve all felt something was off about this whole thing,” a user wrote.

“‘Vote-counting’ computers - Did Trump just accuse Musk of doing something improper & confess to the election being - computer altered?” asked another.

Despite the reactions to Donald Trump’s statement, there are no official or confirmed reports about the 2024 election results being rigged. Notably, election night polling suggested that Pennsylvania could go to his opponent, Kamala Harris, which eventually proved the opposite.

Previously, in 2020, Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters accused the democrats of election/voter fraud and illegal rigging that eventually led to the January 6, 2021, United States Capitol riot. However, no credible or verifiable source ever confirmed the same.

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Exploring what Elon Musk said during Donald Trump’s pre-inaugural rally

On the eve of his presidential inauguration, Donald Trump praised his associate, Elon Musk. He also invited the latter on stage and welcomed him with an embrace as Musk’s four-year-old son, X Æ A-12 (pronounced, ex-ash-ay–twelve), tagged along.

During his brief appearance on stage, the Tesla CEO claimed that the Republican administration under Donald Trump was “looking forward to making a lot of changes” and that victory is a start. He continued by saying that it was important that these “significant changes” were implemented to “set the foundation” for the USA to be “strong” in the coming centuries.

He added their plan of doing “great things” for the country and making America great again. About his son following him on stage, the SpaceX CEO noted that the toddler was a “very enthusiastic supporter.”

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Elon Musk will co-head the Department of Government Efficiency with Vivek Ramaswamy under Donald Trump’s administration.