Donald Trump’s ‘Voting Computers’ Comment Sparks Elon Musk Speculation
President-elect Donald Trump described Elon Musk‘s knowledge of Pennsylvania voting systems as the reason he won the state in the 2024 election, causing some viewers and left-leaning social media accounts to speculate if the election was “rigged.”
A clip of Trump describing Musk’s influence over voting systems went viral as Trump critics, including a sitting Democrat in the House of Representatives, suggested that the voting machines could have been hacked.
Newsweek contacted Dominion, a company responsible for some voting systems in Pennsylvania, for comment on this story via email.
Why It Matters
Trump is no stranger to voter fraud allegations, having popularized claims that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats. However, he has not made any allegations against the results of the 2024 election, which he won. This makes the latest comments in his speech yesterday, in which he notes his ally’s extensive understanding of voting machines, particularly surprising.
What To Know
During a rally in Washington D.C. on Sunday, Trump said that his political ally Elon Musk had an advanced understanding of the voting machines used in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state that was key to Trump’s victory in November.
“He knows those computers better than anybody. All those computers. Those vote-counting computers,” Trump told the crowd. “And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide.”
The comments were quickly seized upon by anti-Trump viewers, who considered it an admittance to using Musk’s tech knowledge to commit voter fraud.
“Is that a ******* confession?” one viewer asked on social media. “You know if President Biden said anything remotely sounding like that, they would never shut up about it.”
“Did Donald Trump just say that Elon Musk helped him rig the election?” journalist David Leavitt asked, reposting the clip that gained almost 6 million views in less than a day.
Additionally, podcast host Ryan Shead said: “Donald Trump just stood on stage and said the election was stolen for him and that Elon Musk messed with the voting computers like only he could.”
Newsweek has contacted the Trump Transition team, as well as Elon Musk through X, for comment via email
What People Are Saying
Democrat Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett said in a response on social media: “So Trump is rambling on about he and Elon rigging the election?! Am I missing something or is he confessing to yet another damn crime?!”
What Happens Next
Donald Trump will be sworn in as the next president at noon today, returning to the White House after a four-year hiatus. Elon Musk will also work in the administration as the cohead of the Department of Government Efficiency.
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