Donald Trump issued a statement portraying Iran as a dangerous life-threatening enemy and thanking Democrats for their cooperative bipartisan support in helping protect him.
If that sounds like an unusual sentence — Trump’s saying that America has a bigger enemy than its own Democrats — that’s because it is, given the level of division and rancor in the 2024 American presidential race.
Last week, after an apparent assassination attempt on the former President from outside a Florida golf course, Trump asserted that Democrats were stoking violence against him with their “extreme” rhetoric, an accusation that struck Dems as insincere coming from a Republican nominee who has continually employed divisive rhetoric.
Big threats on my life by Iran. The entire U.S. Military is watching and waiting. Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again. Not a good situation for anyone. I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before. Thank you…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2024
Trump wrote, in part: “Thank you to Congress for unanimously approving far more money to Secret Service – Zero ‘NO’ Votes, strictly bipartisan. Nice to see Republicans and Democrats get together on something.”
Trump is referring to an increase in Secret Service resources to protect him, saying there were zero NO votes in Congress and that his increased protection was a consensus decision.
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 25, 2024
“Keep this man safe,” wrote one X user, echoing what Congress had unanimously increased funding to do. Responding to that call, X owner Elon Musk weighed in saying simply “Yes.”
[NOTE: After the recent assassination attempt, Trump also received a call from Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris to check on his well being. Trump described it as a “very nice call.”]
Musk has invested in the Trump campaign and thrown his considerable support behind the Republican nominee, turning his social media platform into a very MAGA-friendly environment and amplifying rhetoric that many find to be extreme.