Tech mogul Elon Musk on Sunday addressed the public backlash over his recent post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which he appeared to endorse an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about Jewish people espoused by another X user.
“Over the past week, there have been hundreds of false media stories claiming I am anti-Semitic,” Musk wrote on Sunday afternoon.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he continued. “I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”
The latest wave of media backlash came after Musk replied, “You said the actual truth,” to a post that repeated an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews want to flood the country with minority groups from other countries.
The post read: “I have no interest in giving the slightest shit now that Western Jewish populations are coming to the disturbing realisation that the hordes of minorities they support flooding their country don’t like them very much.”
Musk’s apparent endorsement of this message had immediate consequences, with Disney, Apple and other companies pulling their advertising from the platform.
Several public officials rebuked the X owner, including the White House, which said: “It is unacceptable to repeat the vile lie behind the deadliest act of anti-Semitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
While some 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls, including former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, condemned the statement earlier on the Sunday shows, others dodged.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sparred with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday morning when asked if he would condemn the post, first saying he had not seen it. When Tapper read the post, DeSantis still refused to condemn it, saying he wanted to see the full context and insisting that Musk has long had a target on his back.
“Well, because I haven’t seen it,” DeSantis said on CNN’s State of the Union when asked about the post. “I know you tried to read it, I have no idea what the context is. I know Elon Musk. I’ve never seen him do anything. I think he’s a, he’s a guy who believes in America. I’ve never seen him indulge in anything like that. So it’s surprising if it’s true, but I haven’t seen it. So I don’t want to sit there and prejudge it.”
Musk denied the allegations of anti-Semitism in his post on Sunday, but did not provide any further explanation for the post.
Musk has been accused of using anti-Semitic rhetoric in the past and has had a strained relationship with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organisation that fights hate and anti-Semitism. The ADL has been the subject of Musk’s ire, particularly after it published a report documenting a rise in anti-Semitic incidents after he took over the company formerly known as Twitter.
