Musk accuses Harris of lying about Trump's stance on national abortion ban
Elon Musk on Monday accused Vice President Harris of lying about former President Trump supporting a national abortion ban, after a community note was apparently added to a post from her campaign account.
“When will politicians, or at least the intern who runs their account, learn that lying on this platform doesn’t work anymore?” Musk wrote on his social platform X on Monday morning, attaching a screenshot of Harris’s statement with a community note adding context.
By Monday afternoon, Harris’s post did not include a community note. It is not clear when, and for how long, the note was there.
In her original post on Sunday, Harris wrote that “Donald Trump would ban abortion nationwide,” adding, “President @JoeBiden and I will do everything in our power to stop him and restore women's reproductive freedom.”
Musk also commented directly on Harris’s post on X, writing Sunday night, “He clearly said he would not do so in the debate.”
Trump’s position on abortion has been at the heart of many campaign debates this cycle. For months, he teased that he would announce his official position on the contentious issue, and, in April, announced abortion laws should be left up to states.
In that announcement, he avoided taking a position on a federal abortion ban, but soon after said he would not sign such a ban, noting, “because we don’t need it any longer. Because we broke Roe v. Wade.”
The Biden-Harris campaign hit back at Musk’s accusation, linking to earlier reporting about Trump privately signaling that he would support a 16-week ban, before his official announcement on the issue.
The campaign also noted Trump has repeatedly touted his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, pointing to the three justices he appointed who provided the majority necessary to do so. The campaign also pointed to Trump's varied public statements on the matter in recent months.
“Elon Musk can Google it: Donald Trump wants to ban abortion nationwide, allow his allies to ban medication abortion and contraception, and use the power of the government to harass and punish women,” campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement.
“This election is a choice between codifying Roe and protecting women’s fundamental rights, and allowing extreme politicians to interfere with medical decisions and rip away freedoms,” Singer added.