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Tech billionaire Elon Musk described his close relationship with Donald Trump calling the US President a “friend” and highlighting how often they see eye to eye on key issues.“I do consider the president a friend. I think he considers me a friend and we get along very well,” Elon Musk said in the interview, which aired on Saturday evening on My View with Lara Trump, the US President’s daughter-in-law.“I think probably if you asked us both the same set of questions in two different rooms, 80 percent of the time we would come up with the same answer,” he added. “We almost always agree.”Status as White House adviser under spotlightThe conversation comes as Musk’s status as a White House special employee is set to expire on May 30. President Trump, however, signaled earlier this week that Musk could remain in the advisory role “as long as he wants.” Musk has played a leading role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheading mass layoffs and federal budget cuts during Trump’s first 100 days in office.Pushback over Nazi salute accusationDuring the interview, Musk also pushed back against viral claims that he made a Nazi-style salute during Trump’s post-inauguration event in January. He said the gesture had been misrepresented and was a “loving gesture” toward the president.“It’s a relentless propaganda campaign,” Musk said of the criticism, noting, “Obviously President Trump has experienced [this] for a very long time, 20 years, maybe longer. And politics is a blood sport, so they’re going to come up with whatever attacks they can.”Musk: “It’s outrageous to claim I’m a Nazi”Responding to a question about his upbringing in apartheid-era South Africa, Musk strongly rejected the Nazi comparisons.“Now, obviously, I’ve not harmed anyone in my life, so it’s an outrageous thing to claim that I’m a Nazi,” he said.Musk also defended Trump against similar allegations and criticised media outlets for amplifying what he described as “legacy news lies.”“Character assassination” campaignMusk accused his detractors of conducting a smear campaign aimed at destroying his public image.“If you repeat a lie — you know, the sort of ‘he’s a Nazi’ lie — enough times, some people actually believe it, especially people that still believe the legacy news,” Musk said.“They really are trying every angle to get me,” he added. “If they could press a button and kill me… in reality, they would press that button immediately. But since I’m a little difficult to kill, they are doing character assassination instead.”Democratic criticism continuesMusk’s expanded role in the Trump administration — including influencing budget cuts and rumored involvement in the recent German election — has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers. Many have questioned the concentration of power in Musk’s hands and his unchecked influence over policy decisions affecting millions of Americans.
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