In December 2024, while U. S. President-elect Donald Trump was speaking at AmericaFest in Phoenix, an alleged (archived) screenshot of a Truth Social post circulated online and garnered more than three hundred views. 000 visits.

(User X @iamchanteezy)

The message said: 

Let me explain everything right away: I am the president-elect of the United States. Not Elon Musk. Nobody else. I know the media (the FAKE NEWS) and even some of you keep saying things like “Elon really runs the show”, however let me tell you it is MY vision, MY leadership and MY America we are talking about. Array Now, I admit, Elon was helpful in the campaign. He gave a lot of cash, HUGE amounts of cash. And I enjoyed it, in fact I did. But lately I feel like he’s forgotten one thing: I’m the one on the fare. Not him. Sure, he’s smart about rockets, cars, maybe even X (well, sort of), but politics? This is MY game, friends. The constant confusion, other people joking about him being “president” and I’m just vice president? NO. Fake. Totally false. It’s distracting and, frankly, disrespectful. This is about the American people, not Elon Musk’s ego. So, Elon, I’ll say this: Thank you for your support, but it’s time for you to stay in your lane. I’m trying to make this country greater than ever. The global will see who is in the rate on January 20. MAGA!

However, as user X who shared the alleged screenshot admitted, the post is fake. A seek of Trump’s Truth, a site that archives all of the president-elect’s posts on Truth Social, did not reveal any original edits to the post. The post was also not discovered in searches of Facebook and/or Trump’s accounts.

Discussions about the balance of forces between Musk and Trump have been going on since at least late November (archived). In early December (archived), articles (archived) (archived) containing the word “President Musk” circulated online.

The word has been used by Democratic Representative Dan Goldman (archived) and former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger (archived).

In fact, Trump addressed the discussion in his speech at AmericaFest on December 22 (at 1:02:39 in the video).  

We will create the new Department of Government Effectiveness led by Elon Musk. And no, he will not assume the presidency. I like having other wise people. You know, they’re in a new hoax: Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, all the other hoaxes and the new one is: “President Trump has passed the presidency to Elon Musk. » No, no. This is not No. It will happen, but Elon did a job. Isn’t it great to have other wise people we can count on?

After praising Musk for his paintings offering Starlink to disaster-affected spaces in the United States, Trump added: “But no, he’s not going to be president, I can tell you that. And I’m safe, do you know why? This is not the case, he was not born in this country.

@AdamKinzinger. Oh, the war we waged over the debt ceiling.   And all we had to do to approve it was ask Vice President Trump and President Musk to request it. December 19, 2024, https://x. com/AdamKinzinger/status/1869742257039098241.

@iamchanteezy. “Maybe it’s a genuine message, but it still speaks to some fact about his tainted ego. ” X, 22 December 2024, https://x. com/iamchanteezy/status/1870668649813426611.

—. “Someone’s ego has been ripped out ?. ” X, 21 December 2024, https://x. com/iamchanteezy/status/1870599806760198174

@MartinNZ1969. ” So now, JD Vance turns out to have disappeared from the sofa side, so to speak. Does Trump officially vice president, or do you think President Musk will appoint someone else. “X, December 7, 2024, https://x. com/MartinNZ1969/status/1865521066069946859.

President-elect Trump speaks at Turning Point Action Conference in Arizona | Video | C-SPAN. Org. https://www. c-span. org/program/public-affairs-event/president-elect-trump-speaks-at-turning-point-action-conference-in-arizona/653788. Retrieved December 23, 2024.

@ProteinProsecco. ” Hearing that under President Musk and Co-President Trump, all extraneous weather air numbers will be removed from flight booking apps. “X, November 30, 2024, https://x. com/ProteinProsecco/status/1862849924490035506.

@RepDanGoldman. “President Musk and Vice President Trump have ordered House Republicans to reject a bipartisan deal that would have allowed New York to reimburse SNAP flight victims. ” X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/ repangoldman/status/1869931881484927045.

@RobertJMolnar. “President Musk met with the president of Georgia”. X, December 8, 2024, https://x. com/obertjmolnar/status/1865545368475468010.

@Rt_Sports_Tv. ” Senator Trump. ” X, 9 December 2024, https://x. com/Rt_Sports_Tv/status/1866113911294181495

“The truth about Trump. ” Trump’s truth, https://trumpstruth. org/search?end_date=

Laerke Christensen is a journalist based in London, England, with expertise in OSINT reporting.