On Friday morning, President Donald Trump lashed out at the media, calling them “FAKE NEWS” and “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE” for reporting that the Pentagon would brief Elon Musk on a secret war plan regarding China. Trump strongly denied the claims, calling the story “completely untrue.”
Trump’s rant began Thursday evening on his Truth Social platform, where he criticized The New York Times over the report. He wrote, “The Fake News is at it again, this time the Failing New York Times. They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China.’ How ridiculous?” He added, “China will not even be mentioned or discussed. How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!”
Trump continued to respond to the Times’ report in a series of posts. He refuted the claim that Musk, due to his business dealings in China, might pose a security risk. He wrote, “The Fake concept for this story is that because Elon does some business in China, that he is very conflicted and would immediately go to top Chinese officials and ‘spill the beans.’” Trump then repeated his denial, writing, “Elon is NOT BEING BRIEFED ON ANYTHING CHINA BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR!!!”
Trump followed up with another post on Friday morning, referring again to the Times’ report, writing, “Elon Musk will be briefed by the Pentagon about the USA’s top secret plans against China should there be a War, according to the Failing New York Times, one of the worst and most purposely inaccurate newspapers anywhere in the World.” He went on to criticize the media, saying, “Their FAKE concept for this story is that because Elon does some business in China, that he is very conflicted and would immediately go to top Chinese officials and ‘spill the beans.’ RATINGS CHALLENGED FAKE NEWS CNN immediately picked up on this absolutely ridiculous and false story, which is probably libelous, and went heavy with it. Fortunately, nobody was watching!”
Trump also singled out a specific reporter from The Times: “Maggot Hagerman, the really dumb ‘scammer’ who constantly writes about me for the Times, using anonymous, made up (nonexistent!) sources, and who I haven’t spoken to in ages, is a big part of the Scam. She led the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, only to realize that she was duped and got it wrong. She owes me a totally discredited Pulitzer Prize for her bad reporting.” He ended with, “The Fake News is the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE…And Elon is NOT BEING BRIEFED ON ANYTHING CHINA BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR!!!”
The controversy stemmed from a report in The New York Times, which claimed that Musk would attend a meeting at the Pentagon where he would be briefed on U.S.-China relations. The Times reported that the Pentagon had prepared a “China war plan,” a presentation of about 20-30 slides outlining U.S. military options in the event of a conflict with China. The plan reportedly included a timeline of actions, from initial warnings of threats to specific targets, and would later be presented to the president.
Trump’s comments came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invited Musk to the Pentagon for a meeting focused on “innovation, efficiencies & smarter production,” as reported by The Associated Press.
Musk has been under scrutiny for his involvement in government projects, including his role in advising the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on federal government reforms. His presence at official events has raised questions about his influence with the president.
Trump and Hegseth are expected to speak together at the White House later on Friday.
