While Elon Musk was fielding questions from the media in the White House on government efforts to trim federal workers, his four-year-old son was holding court on his own.
The pre-schooler X – full name X Æ A-Xii – made a surprise appearance in the Oval Office with Musk and US President Donald Trump on Feb 11, where Trump introduced the boy as a “high IQ individual”.
As his father addressed the press, X, who was dressed in a tan overcoat, apparently told a seated Trump “I want you to shush your mouth”, Internet users claimed.
Some even claimed the child seemingly said: “You are not the President, you need to go away.”
“Kids (definitely) repeat what they hear at home,” said netizen Mike Litoris on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Tip Jackson said on Facebook: “It’s been said ‘kids always tell the truth!’”, while Amber L Geyer said, “This kid is the winner!”
However, there are some who claimed X didn’t say such things.
“I watched it live and it didn’t happen like that,” said Gina Smith on Facebook.
Instead, the boy said something akin to “I was told to shush”, to which Trump replied “yeah”, according to X user GenXtina.
At the same event, X was also seen picking his nose and wiping it on the Resolute desk, gifted to President Rutherford Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880 and used by nearly every president since.
As the child grew more restless during the long press conference – at one point clinging on to Musk’s leg – his father hoisted X up to sit on his shoulders while he continued answering questions from the media.
“Sorry for this,” Musk, a father of 12, said with a laugh as his son grabbed his hair and played with his ears.
X’s public appearance didn’t please his mother, singer-songwriter Grimes, who is currently embroiled in a custody battle with Musk over X and their other children, three-year-old Exa Dark Siderael and two-year-old Techno Mechanicus.
“He should not be in public like this,” Grimes wrote on X, after being told by a follower that the boy was “very polite” after he told Trump “please forgive me, I need to pee”.
Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, added: “I did not see this, thank you for alerting me. But I’m glad he was polite. Sigh.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
