Report: Trump Tried to Get Musk to Buy 2nd Social Media Site

The presumptive Republican nominee for president and the world's second-richest man have a cozier relationship than previously known, according to a Washington Post report, which describes numerous conversations in which Donald Trump and Elon Musk discussed politics, business, and the potential sale of Truth Social. According to the Post, Trump asked Musk to buy his social networking site last summer as the long-delayed merger of Truth Social parent company Trump Media & Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Corp. appeared in doubt, though no deal resulted. In 2022, Musk had disparaged Truth Social, saying it was "time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset." But the X owner seems to have changed his tune.

Though he hasn't shown any public interest in buying Truth Social, Musk has spoken kinder of Trump in recent months—"Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a very real disease," he wrote on X last week—and urged followers to "vote Republican," per the Wrap. He's also "complained about being unfairly targeted by the Biden administration," while referring to the president as a sock puppet and corpse, per the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, cash-strapped Trump has continued to float the idea of Musk buying Truth Social, the Post reports, noting the sale "could provide him a much needed cash infusion." But Trump could get that regardless. If shareholders approve the merger in a March 22 vote, Trump Media stands to gain $300 million, per the Wrap.

Whether or not Trump hopes Musk buys his site, he's courting the billionaire in other ways. According to CNBC, Trump and allies want Musk to speak at the Republican convention in July. "Look, I've been friendly with him over the years," Trump told CNBC's Joe Kernen on Monday, confirming the pair met earlier this month in Palm Beach, Florida. "I've helped him when I was president. I helped him. I've liked him." Asked for comment on the Post's reporting, a Trump Media rep noted, "We heard Trump and Musk were actually discussing buying the Washington Post but they decided it had no value." Musk only said he had "never been to Mar-a-Lago." (More Donald Trump stories.)