Trump defends Elon Musk over Starlink concerns in Ukraine calls a ‘Brilliant guy’
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Friday has defended Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk after discussions surrounding Starlink and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, stated that he trusted the technology entrepreneur and did not believe he would act improperly.
Trump has described the world’s richest person as an exceptional talent whose contributions to American technology deserved recognition and protection, IANS reported.
“Elon’s a brilliant guy, and I have an expression. We have to protect our brilliant people because we don’t have too many of them,” he said.
He said this in reply to questions about Elon Musk and the possibility of political scrutiny if Democrats gained control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Trump rejected suggestions that Elon Musk had done anything wrong.
“Elon is a very good guy. He’s a very different kind of a guy. But I think people have an obligation to protect our geniuses,” he said.
The exchange turned to Starlink, the satellite communications network associated with Elon Musk, and its role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He defended Musk’s judgement, Trump expressed confidence that he would not misuse his position. “First of all, he’s a very good person. He’s not going to do anything wrong,” he said.
Trump praised Elon Musk’s technological achievements, pointed to Starlink as evidence of his abilities.
“He’s a very brilliant person, or Starlink wouldn’t exist,” he said.
Trump has acknowledged the unusual circumstances surrounding interactions with private technology companies on matters connected to international conflicts.
“He’s a fair person and, you know, it’s an unusual situation where they’re talking to private companies. But he’s not going to do anything that’s wrong,” he added.
