An extremely exclusive meeting at the Pentagon that was supposed to provide Elon Musk with an update on the United States’ military preparations in the case of a conflict with China was abruptly terminated, and it was revealed that the decision to do so originated directly from Donald Trump himself.
On March 20, The New York Times published an article that revealed the presence of the secret meeting, which resulted in a significant amount of reaction within the White House. This information was reported by Axios, which is a highly explosive publication.
Musk found himself at the center of a significant issue for the reason that he had been invited to access information that was well beyond his security level.
Reports indicate that Trump, who was reportedly enraged behind closed doors, yelled at his staff:
“I don’t know what the f**k Elon is doing there. “Make sure that he does not leave,” Trump reportedly said, as reported by Axios.
Initially, Musk was scheduled to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other Pentagon officials for a critical national security briefing that would describe how the United States might engage in combat with China. However, the meeting did not take place as planned.
However, the proposal caused warning signs to be raised within the administration, particularly in light of the fact that Musk has extensive financial ties to China through Tesla, which is a matter that has long caused officials to feel concerned. Musk is a significant defense contractor through his company SpaceX; nonetheless, the fact that he has a unique straddle between American military contracts and Chinese financial interests has generated concern.
In an interview with Axios, a government official stated, “POTUS still loves Elon very much, but there are some red lines.” There is a lot of business that Elon does in China, and he has good contacts there; therefore, this briefing was not the appropriate thing to receive.
Trump’s apparent denial, but his fiery anger in private
Following the leak from the Times, Trump publicly referred to the story as “fake news,” and he released the following statement on Truth Social late at night:
Incorrectly, they stated that Elon Musk is scheduled to visit the Pentagon tomorrow in order to receive a briefing on the possibility of getting into a “war with China.” How far-fetched is that? “The story is totally and completely false!!!”
Nevertheless, according to Axios, by the time Trump made that post, he had already given the order to cancel the briefing.
Musk continued to show up at the Pentagon the next day for a meeting with Hegseth that was significantly reduced in scope, and China was not even brought up during the discussion.
Despite this, Trump was unable to avoid showing his hand. In response to the pressing of reporters, he confessed that he was concerned about Musk’s ties to China:
“You know, because Elon has businesses in China, he might be vulnerable to that,” I said. “I certainly wouldn’t want that to happen.”
Elon Musk retaliates
Musk reacted to the breach on X (which was formerly known as Twitter), strongly condemning it and demanding accountability:
The prosecution of people within the Pentagon who are leaking purposefully false material to the New York Times is something I am looking forward to as well. All of them will be located.
The repercussions were felt almost immediately. As part of the inquiry into the leak, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly suspended two high-ranking Pentagon officials, including Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick. This reporting comes from both Reuters and Politico. Even further, it was stated that Selnick was escorted out of the building.
However, this leak was not the only one that was being investigated. According to Politico, the same investigation is carrying out an investigation into material that has been released concerning the United States military’s plans for the Panama Canal, operations in the Red Sea, and intelligence collection in Ukraine.
From Here on Out?
For the time being, the drama is serving as yet another unpredictable chapter in the complicated connection that exists between the richest man in the world and the most unpredictable president in the history of modern times. It is possible that Trump “still loves Elon,” but even affection has its limits, particularly when it comes to briefing millionaires on confidential war plans.
