The Secret Service is looking into Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweet that questioned why no one was trying to assassinate President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to Bloomberg News, the Secret Service declined to release information related to Musk’s tweet over the weekend due to “enforcement proceedings.” The publication had filed a Freedom of Information Act to see what the response was to Musk replying to a user on X, “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?”
In response, Musk, who owns X, wrote, “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.”
Musk later deleted his message and chalked it up to people not understanding his sense of humor.
“Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on 𝕏,” he wrote.
A Secret Service spokesperson said the agency knew of Musk’s message but would not be offering further comment.
“The Secret Service is aware of the social media post made by Elon Musk and as a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence,” Melissa McKenzie, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, said in a statement to Business Insider. “We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees.”
Trump allies, including Musk, have tried to emphasize that the former president has survived two assassination attempts in recent months while leading Democrats have not had such close calls.
Trump was injured during the July assassination attempt as a bullet nearly missed his head during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. On Sunday, law enforcement officials said they thwarted another attempt when they spotted a man with a gun lurking in the woods close to a golf course Trump was on. The suspect, Ryan Routh, now faces two federal gun charges.
Musk offered his full-throated endorsement to Trump after the Butler shooting.
It is true that Harris has not been shot, but federal law enforcement agencies have arrested multiple individuals who threatened to kill her since she began her historic vice presidency in 2021. Last month, the FBI arrested a Virginia man for threatening Harris and other officials on GETTR, a conservative social media site. In 2021, Secret Service arrested a man who was armed with a rifle and ammunition near the Naval Observatory, the vice president’s residence.
As Bloomberg pointed out, the Secret Service often investigates direct and implied threats against the people they protect, including Biden and Harris.
Most often, the worst that comes of it is a visit from a Secret Service officer. Comedian Kathy Griffin, who posted a photo of a fake severed head of Trump when he was president, has said she was investigated for two months before federal law enforcement officials decided not to press charges.
The White House previously called out Musk for his post.
“Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about. This rhetoric is irresponsible,” the White House said in a statement, per ABC News.
A representative for Musk did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
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