"They're gonna start having marital arguments" — Internet reacts to Trump joking Elon Musk cannot be the president as he wasn't born in the US

President-elect Donald Trump recently joked that Elon Musk can't be president of the United States. During his address at AmericaFest 2024 on Sunday, December 22, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, the billionaire addressed rumors of him giving the U.S. presidency to the Tesla founder, stating:

"No, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you. And I’m safe. You know why? He can’t be. He wasn’t born in this country."

For the unversed, Musk was born in South Africa to Maye and Errol Musk. According to the USAGov website, the U.S. Constitution requires the president to be a natural-born American citizen, at least 35 years old, and have been residing in the U.S. for 14 years.

Rumors began spreading after many Democratic leaders and people online questioned Musk's influence over Trump in recent days.

As news of Trump's comment went viral, internet users were quick to react. One commented:

"They're gonna start having marital arguments on the tl."

A comment reacting to the news (Image via X/ @PopCrave)

Netizens continued to joke about the development. Here are some comments seen on X:

"Please lord let this be the end of whatever weird relationship they have going on," one commented.

"Extremely rare Trump W ngl" another joked.

"God let them destroy each other" a person wrote.

On the other hand, some mentioned Elon Musk's achievements.

"The girls are fighting," one quipped.

"He's unavailable. Man is too busy building stuff ," a user reacted.

"people can hate as much as they want, but Elon‘s achievements in Tesla, SpaceX, and now DOGE are non-negotiable and outright impressive," another countered.

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"They're on a new kick" — Donald Trump addresses concerns that Elon Musk is in charge

Donald Trump's comment on Sunday came after many criticized Elon Musk for undermining the incoming president. Several Democratic leaders raised concerns about the Tesla founder's influence over senators and policymakers and have called out the president-elect for letting him be in charge.

These concerns stemmed from Friday's (December 10, 2024) Senate hearing, where Musk's efforts helped the Republican-controlled House pass spending legislation, thereby preventing a government shutdown just days before Christmas.

According to a December 2024 report by Politico, an anti-Trump group calling themselves The Lincoln Project recently put out a YouTube video (on November 20, 2024) claiming Trump was the vice president to Musk's president. Harry Sisson, a political activist, even called the president-elect a "puppet president" in an X post shared last week.

Addressing the claims on Sunday, Trump remarked:

"They’re (Democrats) on a new kick. All the different hoaxes. The new one is that President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk. No, no, that’s not happening."

He continued to praise Musk, calling him a "great guy."

"Isn’t it nice to have smart people we can rely on? Don’t we want that?" Trump added.

Last month, Donald Trump announced Elon Musk and fellow tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy would lead the proposed Department of Government Efficiency DOGE). The advisory commission's purpose is to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

In a statement made to Business Insider on December 20, 2024, Trump's soon-to-be White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, dismissed the rumors, asserting that Donald Trump was the "leader of the Republican Party."

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Elon Musk has not publicly reacted to the development.