The return of Donald Trump to X was not only celebrated, the subsequent conversation between Musk and Trump broke records as people tuned in from all over the globe to listen.
Thanks to a program called “Leaflet,” we can see that the audience was, indeed, global, with people in Australia, the UK, South America, Japan, and more tuning in.
According to Leaflet, you can see that people were listening to @elonmusk talk to @realDonaldTrump all over the globe. pic.twitter.com/bPkKiacNVi
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) August 13, 2024
But the most impressive part is the amount of people who ultimately tuned in to listen to the conversation. X posted that from the time they went live to the time they ended, 73 million people viewed the space, while four million people posted about it, amounting to a total of just over one billion views.
Combined views of the conversation with @realDonaldTrump and subsequent discussion by other accounts now ~1 billion https://t.co/s8x8QmdmnY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024
What should also be considered is that many people don’t have X accounts or didn’t want to tune in to the stream directly, and many people ended up listening to the stream by watching streams on Rumble like mine, which tuned in for them.
This is incredibly impressive and a clear sign that Trump has captured the attention of people the world over. As America is still the world’s greatest superpower, what effects us effects the world, and many people to see a man who can actually take control and guide a nation to prosperity return to office. Moreover, the conversation was actually very interesting, with the format being more akin to a Joe Rogan show than a traditional media interview.
Naturally, Trump having such an unfettered platform did not sit well with authoritarians. As I reported on Monday, the EU warned Musk that he and Trump had better behave prior to the interview and threatened to take action if they didn’t obey EU rules set for X. Musk did not respond kindly, to say the least.
(READ: EU Warns Elon Musk to Behave Ahead of His Donald Trump Interview and Musk Is Not Having It)
Here in the states, the mainstream press did not like the fact that Trump was effectively getting around them, and a Washington Post reporter asked Karine Jean-Pierre if there was a way to stop the conversation from happening at all. Mainstream media figures on CNN threw a very professional temper tantrum about their loss of narrative control as well.
It’s very clear that this wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Trump was supposed to be confined to friendly interviews from center-right networks and Fox News, which the left has programmed the public to be wary of or outright hate. The conversation on X was more proof that the corporate media is losing its grip on the narrative.
That said, Musk has invited Kamala Harris to have the same kind of conversation on X, but it’s highly unlikely she’ll accept. More accurately, the DNC probably won’t let her accept, as they’ve kept her away from any and all press interactions that don’t involve a teleprompter and carefully controlled moments. Even if the Harris campaign does accept the offer, I sincerely doubt there will be similar amounts of excitement.
Either way, a great day for the people.
