Trump said Musk was a genius and we must cherish him. Image: Shutterstock
Former US President Donald Trump said that he would like to keep Tesla CEO Elon Musk in his cabinet if he’s elected as President.
In an interview with Shawn Ryan, which is yet to be broadcasted, the host of US-based ‘The Shawn Ryan Show’, Trump said that he would keep Musk in his cabinet but doubted if Musk could do it with so many things already on his plate.
Ryan asked Trump if keeping Musk in the cabinet would require him to do something with artificial intelligence.
“He wants to be involved now. Look, he’s running big businesses and all that, so he can’t really. I don’t think he’d be [able to handle the work of cabinet]. I’d put him in the cabinet, absolutely. But I don’t know how he could do that with all the things he’s got going,” Trump said.
Trump said that Musk can consult with the country and produce ideas, especially on AI.
“But he can sort of, as the expression goes, consult with the country and give you some very good ideas, like on AI. There’s nobody knows more about it than Elon. It’s a big thing,” he said.
Trump said that if the US doesn’t focus on building AI, somebody else–most likely China–will do it.
“It’s very important for the country. If we don’t do it, China is going to do it or somebody else. But most likely China. And China is working right now to develop a massive flood of electricity. And we don’t, because we have people that are not even thinking about that,” he said.
Trump said that Musk is an ‘unusual character’. He said that Musk was a genius and we must cherish him.
“We have a great relationship. He’s [Musk is] great. He is a totally unusual character. He’s great, and he’s smart, and we have to cherish our geniuses. You know, we don’t have too many of them. He is a brilliant guy, and what he really would like to do is get involved in cutting some of the fat. And he does know how to do it, and he loves the country. You know, it’s just an amazing thing.”
Trump said that if this election doesn’t go the right way, the country will be doomed.
“We have to win this election. This election is going. November 5 will be the most important day, in my opinion, in the history of our country, because if our country goes the wrong way with this election, I think this country is doomed,” he said.
Trump said that the fact that his podcast with Musk on August 13 was viewed by millions was ‘crazy’.
“We had a conversation the other day… I hear it had hundreds of millions of people. I heard it had the biggest audience that there’s ever been. I mean, would you say that’s a correct statement? There’s never been anything even close. I heard 750 million people. I mean, numbers that are crazy,” he said.
First Published: Aug 26 2024 | 10:01 AM IST