After an alleged assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk reacted with a controversial statement, questioning why no one is targeting current President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.
The incident occurred in Florida, where Trump was reportedly the target of a failed assassination attempt on Sunday. According to the FBI, Trump, who is running as the Republican presidential candidate, was unharmed.
The US Secret Service confirmed that its agents opened fire on a gunman near the boundary of Trump’s golf course. They recovered an AK-47-style rifle with a scope and a GoPro camera from the scene.
Musk, responding to a post on X (formerly Twitter) that asked, “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?” wrote: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.”
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is an outspoken supporter of Trump, as the former president is set to face off against Vice President Harris in the upcoming November presidential election.
Authorities identified the gunman as Ryan Wesley Routh, though it is unclear if he fired in Trump’s direction. Secret Service agents reportedly shot at the suspect, who was hiding in the bushes at the golf course.
“We are not sure right now if the individual was able to take a shot at our agents,” said Secret Service representative Rafael Barros, as quoted by AFP.
The FBI stated it is investigating the incident as an “attempted assassination of former President Trump.” Officials praised the swift actions of the Secret Service, which has faced scrutiny following previous security lapses.