The Secret Service has launched a probe into an X post by Elon Musk in which he tweeted that “no one is even trying” to kill Kamala Harris or Joe Biden.

The tech billionaire deleted the post on his X platform and passed it off as a “joke.” However, the White House did not find it funny and instead called it “irresponsible.”

“Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about,” the White House said in a statement. Now the Secret Service is involved.

  • iAvicenna@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    “One lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X,” Musk wrote after deleting the tweet.

    “Turns out that jokes are way less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is in plain text"

    Wrong lesson learned Elon, people who laugh at your joke are ass lickers whereas people on X are not

  • b161@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    19 hours ago

    Explain the joke Leon. What’s the punchline?

    It’s a straight up threat / stochastic terrorism from the richest guy in the world. The same guy who has a security team follow him around and whines about people tracking his jet as aSsAsSiNaTiOn CoOrDiNaTeS. And treats the poor and homeless that his exploitation and greed creates as “drug zombies” while he’s constantly on ketamine and other drugs.

    • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      stochastic terrorism

      the use of mass communications to stir up random lone wolves to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable

      (Saved you a click)

  • micka190@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I still don’t understand how anyone here (or on the internet in general, for that matter) is still asking “Is Elon stupid? Is he a moron?” in response to stuff like this.

    Elon’s a jackass, but he clearly knows what he’s doing with this. He’s inciting political violence and then acting like it was an edgy joke as a way to give himself probable deniability. Dude’s an asshole, but he’s not literally brain dead.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      18 hours ago

      You don’t have to be smart to incite political violence. You’re talking about two different things here.

      The man is stupid.

      • micka190@lemmy.world
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        18 hours ago

        You’re talking about two different things here.

        I’m really not. This very thread is full of comments acting like Elon is a moron for making his stupid “joke”, literally playing into his hand. As @FlyingSquid@lemmy.world said, he’s doing the “turbulent priest” thing.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          7 hours ago

          There is a huge difference between intelligence and base cunning.

          Do you think it takes a brilliant mind to come up with that basic-ass mob bullshit? Trump does the same thing. And we have professors on record saying he was the stupidest person they have ever taught (or possibly encountered? Can’t remember the exact wording).

    • Shark_Ra_Thanos@lemmy.ml
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      1 day ago

      You’re so nice about it. Let’s be real. He’s a Narcissistic predator with too many means to destroy humanity itself and his motivation to do exactly that is transparent, claimed even.

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      On one hand, sure, I have eyes and a mostly functional memory. It seems clear cut. Incredibly lucky shitbag.

      But on the other hand, as a proper American I know that the more money and fame you have, the more of a smart person and good human you are. It’s just a rule of nature. And if you’re a terrible parent estranged from your own children, that just shows how dedicated you are to the mission! How else are we going to get teslas and iPhones?

      Hopefully I don’t need the /s, but Poe’s law exists for a reason.

    • tee9000@lemmy.world
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      Idk why we need to say we are certain about someones intention. It could just be a mental stability thing, like many people have problems with. His tweets are just far more consequential than a regular persons. He might not be as strongly shaped by social norms due to his fortunate circumstance.

      (Im not defending anything. I just want truth and theres no point in extrapolating the situation further than what we see on the surface… just punish him according to what he did, or become a journalist and get relevant details to judge him further)

  • jaybone@lemmy.world
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    Where’s all that left wing rhetoric inciting violence?

    What a giant pussy Trump and Vance are.

    Talk about leopards eating your face. This is the leopard eating its own face. This is the violent rhetoric you dumbass motherfuckers.

      • state_electrician@discuss.tchncs.de
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        1 day ago

        Same. People who say “you can never condone assassination attempts” are idiots. We make movies about people who tried to kill future dictators.

        • Jonah@lemmy.world
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          Imagine looking at Dollar Tree Hitler and not thinking that the world would be better without him. I’m not “condoning” violence, but I fucking get it.

          “We tried to kill Hitler” is basically it’s own genre; let’s not act like those actions don’t have merit on the eyes of a larger population than many people think.

    • beebarfbadger@lemmy.world
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      Where’s all that left wing rhetoric inciting violence?

      I think we can all agree that not enthusiastically agreeing with every stupid thing Trump says is exactly the same as calling for violence. In fact, not rolling over and letting Trump have whatever he wants is the greatest sin and makes the (insert bad descriptor) Left the REAL fascists!

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    2 days ago

    He also controls the satellites used for communication on battlefields and has already turned them off unilaterally during an important Ukrainian operation in the Black Sea.

    He can run Twitter and Tesla into the ground, but SpaceX needs to be nationalized. Its compromise is a national security threat.

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      Is he e getting Russian money? Did he just promote the assassination of the American president? I’m just asking questions.

      • neidu2@feddit.nl
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        Doubt it. There are no hard indications that he’s a russian asset. He’s just an asshat.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          Yes, but according to Russian asset, serial killer and couch fucker JD Vance, you can make up any lie about anyone you want as long as you are making a point.

          • neidu2@feddit.nl
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            True. There are reports that Elon himself agreed with this in a weekly address to xitter staff, after he thoroughly explained how he takes care to use the right type of lube when rectally inserting cucumbers on himself.

      • Phen@lemmy.eco.br
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        1 day ago

        Well some of Putin’s friends helped pay for Twitter so there is some level of connection in there.

  • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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    2 days ago

    That should go well, since the Secret Service are renowned for having a good sense of humour about this sort of thing.

  • Embargo@lemm.ee
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    2 days ago

    Tech billionaire realises that saying things on the internet can be taken differently than expected… in 2024. Is this guy a complete moron?

    • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl
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      7 hours ago

      It’s just a PR cover because he knows as one of the richest people in the world on paper, he could pretty much get away with murder.

      Police protect capital. Legal system protects capital.

      • Embargo@lemm.ee
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        I couldn’t agree more. I try to forget about it momentarily to protect my mental health but never quite get there.

    • rtxn@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Is this guy a complete moron?

      I hope it’s a rhetorical question and you didn’t just now realize it.

      • Embargo@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        Haha nice of you to ask. I knew in some areas for sure but to think someone could stumble into success so effectively with actually nothing to contribute is too depressing to accept.

        • rtxn@lemmy.world
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          Step one, inherit daddy’s South African emerald mine and child slaves.

          Step two, use that blood emerald money to fund lots of insane projects.

          Step three, wait until the engineers make some of them work. Be very vocal about successful projects, and silent about failures.

          Alternative: infest a promising independent project (something cool and futuristic like electric cars), buy yourself the title of “founder”, and act like it was your idea all along.

          Step four, offer a completely insane idea to rescue children inside rocket fuel tanks, then accuse your largest critic of pedophilia.

        • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
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          I don’t know if he’s had any good ideas, but he was an effective hype man before going off the deep end around 2019.

          He also was willing to bet on some things at thought were hard to do (start a new car company, start a new aerospace company that focused on rocket science).

          But yeah, his main deal is being both into wealth he could use with very little discrimination. (That irony is not lost on me, I mean he could bet and lose plenty and still be a racist tycoon).

  • seaQueue@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Ah, right, the thing that would get normal people put on a list and held in custody if the president traveled through their region just gets the Muskrat “probed”

    • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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      Every normal person is on several lists now regardless of guilt. We just consider that a reasonable search and treat Snowden like a traitor.

    • Phen@lemmy.eco.br
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      I’d assume in his case the government already has enough eyes over him that if he were to actually try something they would know it before he even considered sending any threats.

      • Kraven_the_Hunter@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        It’s not so much about him personally trying anything though. The problem is that he’s potentially inciting one of the thousands of unhinged people who follow him into doing something.

  • TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee
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    I sort of feel like the CIA should already have a file on him filed to the brim with juicy nuggets they haven’t really been able to act on until now.

    • orcrist@lemm.ee
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      No doubt various TLAs have compiled dossiers on various very important people. It would be irresponsible of them not to. People who have so much power and access are intrinsic security threats, and that’s no secret to the spy agencies.

      Of course they might frame it differently. They might say that they compile information so that they can make sure that the powerful person doesn’t get blackmailed, for example. It’s easy to try to phrase things in a way that suggests you’re protecting them, when the actual theoretical goal is protecting us from what they could do if things went sideways.

  • Phen@lemmy.eco.br
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    1 day ago

    I wish I too could know if I’ve ever been probed by the secret service or some other government agency. I’ve made some risky jokes on reddit before.

    • seaQueue@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      It’s best to start with fresh materials so you’re going to want to dress them shortly before preparation.

      • Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works
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        a marinade or a dry brine not only adds flavor, it helps reduce the characteristic bitterness found in the rich