Is the relationship between Trump and Musk fixed?
A memorial service for conservative Democratic politician Charlie Kirk was held at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, and tech giant Tesla CEO Elon Musk was briefly seen sitting in the audience next to President Donald Trump.
Elon Musk shook hands with Donald Trump at one point while sitting in the stadium's VIP box. The two are also seen talking to each other in the video.
While the incident may not seem particularly significant, it is the first time the two have been seen together since the Trump-Musk feud became public in June, and that is why there is a lot of speculation about the incident.
In the videos of the two men's discussion, Donald Trump is seen patting Elon Musk's foot in a friendly manner multiple times.
Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Donald Trump's son, and several US administration officials spoke at a memorial service for Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead by an assailant on September 10th.
Charlie Kirk was described as an 'American hero' and a 'martyr'.
"He was killed because he lived a courageous life and he was a wonderful orator," Trump said.
Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica, also announced her forgiveness for her husband's attacker in her speech at the memorial service.
"My husband Charlie was working to save young people. He was shot and killed by one of those young people. I forgave him because hate should not be met with hate," said Erica Kirk.
However, many of Charlie Kirk's statements, which are based on conservative political views, have been criticized as racist and misogynistic. His statements have also been criticized as anti-immigration and homophobic.
Many analysts believe that the meeting between conservative politician Donald Trump and like-minded Elon Musk at a memorial service for conservative Charlie Kirk is politically significant.
Elon Musk spent about $300 million on Donald Trump's campaign in the US election held late last year.
After the election, Mr. Musk was also given responsibility for a controversial department dealing with layoffs from US government jobs.
However, Musk's conflict with Trump began to surface in late May, when he spoke out criticizing the US government's tax and spending policies.
Over the next few days, X continued to post consistently criticizing Donald Trump. Trump also posted on his X account, calling Trump "ungrateful."
Trump also said in the first week of June that his relationship with Elon Musk was 'over'.
When he was then asked if he wanted to reconnect, he said 'no'.
At the time, a large portion of Republicans, including Vice President J.D. Vance, made negative comments about Elon Musk. J.D. Vance said on a podcast at the time that Elon Musk had become overexcited and would probably never be welcome back.
Shortly after, in July, Musk also announced the launch of a new political party called the 'America Party'. However, as of last news, there has been no significant progress in the process of creating that party.
Although it was thought that the 'Trump-Musk bromance' or the brotherly relationship between Trump and Musk was completely over after these incidents, analysts believe that it is time to rethink that equation after Sunday night's incident.
Whether the Trump-Musk handshake at the Charlie Kirk memorial was a mere exchange of courtesies or a sign of thawing relations between the two greats is not known for certain beyond whispers. But it was predictable that this brief interaction between two of America's most influential right-wing figures would make headlines.
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