US President-elect Donald Trump made a back-handed joke about Elon Musk's constant presence at a party in Mar-a-Lago to celebrate his election victory, The Independent reports, according to UNN.
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In his first major speech since winning the election last week, Trump spoke at the Institute of American Politics gala in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday night and joked that the tech billionaire "just likes the place."
"Elon, what a job, what a job he does," Trump said, full of praise. "He’s great, he happens to be a really good guy. You know, he likes this place. I can’t get him out of here."
Musk, who was entrusted with the role of government efficiency watchdog for Trump, came on the scene shortly after the US president-elect.
"As President Trump said, what we need is common sense," Musk told attendees. "This won’t be business as usual.This is going to be a revolution."
Musk reportedly spent "almost every day" with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He even joined Trump's golf game with his granddaughter, 17-year-old Kai. The billionaire was also present on phone calls with world leaders, including Trump's conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Musk was also a constant presence in the election campaign. The billionaire founded the pro-Trump American Political Action Committee and even launched a daily lottery last month, in which $1 million was raffled off among people who signed a petition in support of the rights enshrined in the First and Second Amendments.
Trump made much the same joke at a meeting of Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday: "Elon is not coming home. I can't get rid of him, at least not until I stop liking him.
Experienced tech journalist Kara Swisher told CNN on Sunday morning that Trump insiders were puzzled and alarmed by the extent of Musk's influence. "He's definitely inserting himself all the time; that's his style. That's why he just suddenly showed up there like a guest who doesn't want to leave," she said.
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