Secret Service on High Alert After Elon Musk's Controversial Post

The U.S. Secret Service reacted to a social media post made by Elon Musk, wherein he mused about the lack of assassination attempts on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The post, criticized for potentially inciting violence, was deleted by Musk but caught the attention of the Secret Service.

The U.S. Secret Service announced on Monday that it is aware of a contentious social media post by billionaire Elon Musk. Posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk questioned the absence of assassination attempts on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Musk's post came after a man suspected of plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump was detained at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach. The post, which ended with an eyebrow-raised emoji, drew immediate backlash from both sides of the political spectrum, concerned that Musk's words to his nearly 200 million followers could incite violence against Biden and Harris. While Musk later deleted the post, the Secret Service had already taken note.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service commented, stating, '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. We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees.' Musk's subsequent posts suggested that he had intended the statement as a joke, emphasizing that jokes lack humor if the context and delivery are misconstrued. Both Biden and Harris issued statements expressing relief that Trump had not been harmed.

(With inputs from agencies.)