FORMER US president Donald Trump criticised Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, calling her a "third-rate phoney candidate" and "more incompetent" than president Joe Biden.
Trump's comments came during an audio-only interview with tech billionaire Elon Musk on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), on Monday. The interview faced a delay of over 40 minutes due to technical issues.
In the conversation, Trump described Harris as a "radical left lunatic" and claimed she "wants to be more Trump than Trump." He reiterated his view that Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate was akin to a coup. Musk agreed, adding that Harris's behaviour was "far left."
Trump criticised Harris's performance over the past three and a half years, stating, "It's all talk. She's incompetent, and he (Biden) is incompetent. And frankly, I think that she's more incompetent than he is, and that's saying something because he's not too good."
The former president also accused Harris of failing on border security, leading to a rise in illegal immigration. He asserted that he supports legal immigration but opposes illegal immigration.
Trump added, “She is such a liar,” in the interview that drew over a million listeners despite the technical delays. Musk mentioned that there was a "massive DDOS attack on X" during the conversation, which affected the streaming.
During the interview, Trump and Musk both criticised the Biden-Harris administration's policies, particularly on border security and crime rates.
Trump vowed to implement the "largest deportation in the history of this country," and also criticised Biden's foreign policy while praising leaders like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un.
Musk emphasised that people respond to strength and not weakness, saying, “We have some really bad people, and I say they are more dangerous than Russia and China.” He also said that the biggest threat was not climate change but nuclear warming.
The conversation began with Trump discussing a failed assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, which he called "an act of God."
Trump also criticised the current state of the US economy, claiming that the country is experiencing the worst inflation in 100 years. Musk echoed the need for reduced government spending and suggested the creation of a "government efficiency commission."
Trump, who has a large following on X, stated that China is a primary competitor in artificial intelligence and announced plans to shut down the Department of Education, moving its functions to the states. He hinted that he would need Musk's help in this endeavour.
Throughout the conversation, Trump's posts on X received millions of views, with his first post after returning to the platform gaining 25 million impressions.
(With inputs from PTI)
Damian Talbot