Musk's Deleted Tweet Catches Attention of Secret Service

Elon Musk says it was merely a joke that didn't land, but a tweet he deleted has nonetheless caught the attention of the Secret Service, reports Reuters. In the wake of the apparent attempted assassination attempt on Donald Trump Sunday, Musk wrote, "And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala," accompanied by a thinking-face emoji.

• "The Secret Service is aware of the social media post made by Elon Musk and as a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence," a spokesperson tells Reuters. "We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees." There was no indication of whether Musk has been, or will be, interviewed.

• Musk's tweet drew quick condemnation from the left and right, notes the Hill, which rounds up examples. The White House on Monday joined the chorus. "Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about," says a statement to ABC News. "This rhetoric is irresponsible."
• At Wired, Andrew Couts finds it outrageous that Musk could tweet something like that given how much business he does with the government. It's only "the latest in a long line of increasingly incendiary political posts from Musk, whose substantial defense contracts with the US government may give him access to highly sensitive information even while he makes potential threats against the sitting commander in chief," writes Couts. "And they point to the more pressing risk that Musk's recent rhetoric has posed: the potential to inspire further political violence." Musk, in short, is a "national security risk," the piece maintains.

(More Elon Musk stories.)