With Monday night's unfiltered discussion between Donald Trump and Elon Musk generating a reported billion views, it's no wonder the left collectively freaked out.
Not only did the Washington Post ask the White House if there was anything they could do to stop the conversation from taking place...
The Washington Post’s Cleve Wootson: “One more, @ElonMusk is slated to interview [@realDonaldTrump] tomorrow — tonight on — on @X. I don't know if the president is going to — feel free to say if he is or not — but I — I think that misinformation on Twitter is not just a campaign… pic.twitter.com/zKxJNF1zbf
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 12, 2024
...The EU's Thierry Breton, the current Commissioner for Internal Market of the EU, sent a letter to Musk threatening X with punishment if they didn't crack down on "content that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation."
Musk responded appropriately:
To be honest, I really wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude & irresponsible! https://t.co/jL0GDW5QUx pic.twitter.com/XhUxCSGFNP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2024
For the uninitiated:
Theory Fucks His Own Face After All...
In a harsh rebuke, Brussels has accused Breton of going rogue with the letter to Musk - saying he never sought approval from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to send the letter.
"The timing and the wording of the letter were neither co-ordinated or agreed with the president nor with the [commissioners]," the Commission said in a Tuesday statement reported by the Financial Times.
"Thierry has his own mind and way of working and thinking," said one EU official who asked not to be named.
As the Times notes (lol), "Musk responded to the letter from Breton with a meme from the 2008 film Tropic Thunder, that showed one character yelling: “Take a big step back and literally fuck your own face.”"
Politico Europe reports that four separate EU officials said that Breton's threat to Musk caught many off guard within the Commission.
"The EU is not in the business of electoral interference," said one of those officials. "DSA implementation is too important to be misused by an attention-seeking politician in search of his next big job."
Meanwhile, a Trump campaign spokesperson responded by saying "The European Union should mind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the US presidential election," while Musk later posted that he would be "happy to host" Kamala Harris for a similar discussion.
In response to Breton's letter, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said it was an "unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US," while Trump campaign official Chris LaCivita said that the "European Union is attempting to meddle in the US Election," adding "They can go to hell."
European Union is attempting to meddle in the US Election …they can go to hell https://t.co/d9ullhN0N2
— Chris LaCivita (@LaCivitaC) August 12, 2024
Never go full Thierry...