President Trump claimed on Friday that a report in The New York Times, which detailed plans for Elon Musk to receive a briefing at the Pentagon on U.S. military plans for any prospective war with China, was “made-up” and “fake.”
The Times said afterward that it stood by the reporting in the article, which was first published on its website on Thursday evening. The plan for Mr. Musk to receive the top-secret briefing was also reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Hours after The Times’s report, Mr. Trump denied that Mr. Musk would be briefed on the Pentagon’s military plans involving China. On Friday morning, Mr. Musk met for 80 minutes with the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. The Times and The Journal reported that the briefing was changed to an unclassified meeting after the coverage in the press.
Mr. Musk is the billionaire chief executive of private companies with significant financial interests in China. His companies also hold major contracts with the U. S. government.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Mr. Trump acknowledged the prospect of a conflict of interest were Mr. Musk to be briefed on the closely guarded military secrets. “Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible perhaps to that,” the president said.
But Mr. Trump claimed that The Times’s report “was a fake story” and that “it was meant to undermine whatever relationship the Pentagon has with Elon Musk.” He said that he checked with his senior aides after reading the article and was told, “This is ridiculous.”
Mr. Trump went on to assail The Times in language that he has often deployed against news organizations when he is displeased with their coverage. “It’s such a dishonest newspaper, it’s such garbage,” he said of The Times, adding, “They have fake sources, or they don’t have sources. I think they make most of it up.”
The New York Times said in a statement on Friday: “We stand by our reporting and will continue to pursue the facts and share them fully and fairly with the public.”
“Our job is to report news that is in the public interest,” said a Times spokeswoman. “Elon Musk is the chief executive of both SpaceX and Tesla, and a leading supplier to the Pentagon and has extensive financial interests in China. The Pentagon’s plans to brief him on confidential military secrets related to China raised clear conflicts of interest.”
Earlier on Friday, Mr. Trump claimed that Mr. Musk was visiting the Pentagon to discuss cost savings as part of his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency. “He’s there for DOGE; not there for China,” Mr. Trump said, using an acronym for the department. “And if you ever mentioned China, he would walk out of the room.”