President-elect Donald Trump is setting the record straight: He\u2019s calling the shots, not Elon Musk.<\/p>\n

“No, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you,” Trump said with a laugh at Turning Point USA\u2019s AmericaFest in Phoenix on Sunday, his first major speech following the November election. “And I’m safe. You know why? He can\u2019t be. He wasn’t born in this country.”<\/p>\n

The president-elect made the tongue-in-cheek comment while praising South African-born Musk as a \u201cgreat guy.\u201d Musk, along with tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, is set to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an agency with the goal of shrinking the size of government and cutting spending.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s comments came as Democrats have sought to use Musk, the world\u2019s richest person, as a foil, accusing him of undermining the incoming president.<\/p>\n

Just days before, Trump \u2014 along with Musk \u2014 intervened in House Republicans\u2019 initial government spending package, leading to chaos as Congress raced against the clock<\/a> to avoid a government shutdown.<\/p>\n

Some congressional Democrats raised concerns about Musk\u2019s influence over congressional Republicans, and have taunted Trump by alleging that Musk is the one in charge. The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group, put out a video calling Trump \u201c vice president<\/a>\u201d to \u201cPresident Musk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans have sought to downplay any rift between the two, with Trump\u2019s team dismissing<\/a> those claims as \u201cridiculous.\u201d Amid the spending bill debacle<\/a> last week, Karoline Leavitt, Trump\u2019s incoming White House press secretary, said, \u201cPresident Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the different hoaxes, and the new one is, \u2018President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk,\u2019\u201d Trump said to the crowd on Sunday. \u201cNo, no. That\u2019s not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musk has been flexing his political muscles in recent months, including pouring more than $260 million<\/a> into the 2024 election in support of Republicans. Last week, he said that he\u2019s planning to fund moderate primary challengers<\/a> to incumbent Democrats. Some Republicans have floated him as the next pick for speaker of the House<\/a> in recent days, as Speaker Mike Johnson\u2019s future appears shaky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Musk comments came toward the end of Trump\u2019s hour-plus-long victory lap of a speech, where he touted winning the popular vote, praised his \u201call-star\u201d Cabinet picks and outlined goals for his upcoming term.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s speech was similar to those he delivered on the campaign trail over the 2024 cycle. He made bold claims about lowering taxes, taking back the Panama Canal<\/a> and vowed not to rename military bases, a nod to his plans to end \u201cwoke\u201d ideology in the military.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"