PHOENIX — President-elect Donald Trump dismissed any suggestion that he’s being usurped by his high-profile billionaire ally Elon Musk, coming off a week in which Musk helped derail an emergency spending measure to avert a government shutdown.
Trump said the notion that he has “ceded the presidency” to Musk is a fiction and that even if Musk wanted the job, he couldn’t get it because of the Constitution’s requirement that the U.S. president be a natural-born citizen. Musk was born in South Africa.
“No, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you,” Trump said. “And I’m safe. You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country.”
Trump spoke for more than an hour Sunday at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, with thousands of conservative activists cheering wildly as he took the stage amid a pyrotechnic display. It was his first rally-style event since the election.
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Smoke curled around the lectern and sparklers shot up from the floor as the crowd stood and cheered the incoming president, who wore his trademark suit and overlong red tie.
“Trump! Trump! Trump!” the audience chanted.
“The golden age of America is upon us,” Trump said.
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In his remarks, Trump also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to meet with him “as soon as possible” and called for an end to the “horrible,” horrible” war between Russia and Ukraine.
During the campaign, Trump said he would bring a swift end to the war, using leverage and clout he believes he has attained with both Putin and Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Raising a different foreign policy issue, he reiterated a warning that he made on social media Saturday that Panama is charging excessive fees for use of the Panama Canal, the passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
If Panama doesn’t relent, Trump said he would insist on retaking control of the canal, which the U.S. relinquished under a treaty that then-President Jimmy Carter signed in 1977.
“We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else,” Trump said.
The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, posted on social media Sunday that the canal belongs to Panama and the sovereignty of the country is not up for negotiation.
"Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama, and will continue to," he said in his video message. "The sovereignty and independence of our country are non-negotiable. ... It's part of our history of struggle and an irreversible victory."
Trump also outlined a new plan for a campaign-style advertising blitz aimed at discouraging drug use.
“We are going to advertise how bad drugs are for you,” Trump said. “They ruin your look, they ruin your face, they ruin your skin. They ruin your teeth. If you want to have horrible teeth, take a lot of fentanyl.”
Trump’s appearance at the conference followed a tense standoff in Washington, D.C., over the past week that nearly caused a government shutdown.
Trump and Musk effectively scuttled Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposed emergency spending measure, forcing lawmakers to find an acceptable alternative that would keep the government running hours before the shutdown would have taken effect.
Musk, who owns the social media site X, posted more than 100 times about his objections to the original spending deal — a preview of how he may use his influence and his megaphone to shape policy in Trump’s second term.
Mockingly, Democrats have taken to calling him “President Musk.” History shows that anyone who upstages Trump or diverts attention from him doesn’t last long in his orbit.
Yet Trump’s remarks suggest that he doesn’t want a rift with Musk; for now, the two have shared interests. Musk spent more than $250 million to help get Trump elected.
After his victory, Trump tapped Musk to head a new nongovernmental office whose mission is to reduce government costs and inefficiencies. Looking ahead, Musk’s wealth could help keep Republicans in Trump’s fold. Any GOP lawmaker tempted to defy Trump may fear that the new president would orchestrate a primary challenge bankrolled by Musk.
Speakers at the conference downplayed any friction between Musk and Trump.
In a speech Thursday night, Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s eldest son, said: “You see what the media is trying to do to break up the relationship that my father has with Elon. They’re trying to cause that schism to prevent these guys doing what they’re going to do best, and we cannot allow that.”
Another speaker, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said in an interview with NBC News that Musk is filling an important role in helping eliminate government waste.
“We’re bringing in a consultant from the private sector to put a different set of eyes on what we’re spending money on,” Mullin said.
As for Musk’s use of his social media platform, Mullin said, “He has a right to do it. He’s still a private citizen. He’s no different than anyone else.”
Less than one month before the 45th president becomes the 47th, Trump seemed in a good mood. After summoning Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to the stage, Trump scanned the crowd and didn’t see him at first.
“Is he here someplace? Ted? Ted?” Trump said. “Oh, oh, he’s in trouble.” At that, Cruz emerged from backstage and the two shook hands and embraced.
At another point, Trump heard a strange sound onstage. “What the hell was that?” he said. “You get the little yips up here every once in a while.”
Trump, who faced two assassination attempts during the campaign, added: “I wonder why.”
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
