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‘Believer’ Trump says ‘illegal immigration saved my life’ in an exclusive conversation with Elon Musk
Donald Trump recounted his assassination attempt during a high-profile return to X for a live interview with Elon Musk
In a wide-ranging conversation on X, former President Donald Trump opened up about the assassination attempt he survived during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month. Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and X, initiated the discussion by asking Trump about the harrowing incident.
“I didn’t know I had that much blood,” Trump recounted, referring to the shooting, which he described as the “best alternative you could think about” since he wasn’t more seriously injured. Reflecting on the event, Trump added, “I’m a believer, now. I’m more of a believer in God, I think.”
Trump claimed that the attack was motivated by his strong stance on immigration, a topic he has frequently addressed during his political career. Despite the serious nature of the conversation, Trump later lightened the mood by joking, "Illegal immigration saved my life," referring to a chart he was discussing just moments before the gunfire erupted.
Musk, appearing to acknowledge the danger Trump faced, remarked, “I just want to say that I think a lot of people admire your courage under fire there.” He also suggested, somewhat humorously, that the charts Trump was reviewing at the time might have inadvertently saved his life by prompting him to adjust his position just before the shots were fired.
As the conversation continued, Trump turned his attention to immigration, making bold claims about the number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. “You have millions of people coming in a month. And they have another 5 months,” Trump stated.
Fact-Checking Trump's Immigration Claim
However, fact-checking these claims reveals a more nuanced picture. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 7.1 million arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico between January 2021 and June 2024. It’s important to note that these figures represent arrests, not individual people. Due to pandemic-era asylum restrictions, many individuals made multiple crossing attempts without facing legal consequences, meaning the actual number of people is lower than the total number of arrests.
In addition to these figures, CBP recorded 1.1 million stops at official land crossings with Mexico during the same period, largely through an online appointment system for asylum seekers known as CBP One. Moreover, U.S. authorities admitted nearly 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela under a presidential program that allows entry if they have financial sponsors and arrive at an airport.
In total, these figures amount to nearly 8.7 million encounters, but the actual number of individuals involved is lower due to the multiple encounters some people had with authorities.
Throughout the interview, Musk, who has previously expressed concerns about climate change and its impact on the planet, refrained from challenging Trump on his immigration claims or other controversial statements made during the discussion. This silence marks a contrast to Musk’s past actions, such as when he left Trump’s presidential advisory councils in 2017 over the decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accords.
