Musk's son 'Lil X' steals spotlight in the Oval Office
As camera crews and reporters crowded into the Oval Office on Tuesday, trying to focus on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's first public comments on slashing the government, the dramatic scene at times got stolen -- by Musk's son, "Lil X."
"This is X, and he's a great guy -- high IQ," Trump said at the top of his remarks, chuckling and calling the four-year-old a "high-IQ individual."
While defending his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts, Musk repeatedly got distracted, including after he hoisted his son to his shoulders and "X" played with his father's ears.
MORE: Elon Musk grilled about DOGE transparency, conflicts in Oval Office
"Sorry for this," Musk said. "Otherwise, I might enjoy this, but as he's sticking his fingers in my ears ..." he added with a laugh.
The boy, whose full name is X Æ A-Xii, made faces and mirrored his father's gestures while Musk spoke.
Born in 2020, "Lil X" -- as his father calls him, is the youngest son of Musk and Canadian musician Grimes. He has occasionally been spotted alongside Musk in public, including election night, where he was featured in the Trump family photo and was called "a gorgeous, perfect boy" by the president.
The White House shared a video of the three in the Oval Office, highlighting "Little X" sporting a brown coat and a "cool chain," as described by his father.
At one point, "Little X" leaned against the historic Resolute Desk, similar to how a young John F. Kennedy Jr. was seen in a famous 1962 photo peering out -- from under the very same desk.
Musk's son 'Lil X' steals spotlight in the Oval Office originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
38 minutes ago
- Politico
New Jersey's long, expensive primary turns to counting votes
Polls have closed in the crowded and hotly contested primary for New Jersey governor. Six Democrats and five Republicans are running to replace the term-limited Democrat Phil Murphy in an election marked by personal vitriol and dominated on both sides by President Donald Trump. No matter who wins, it's a historic election. It is the most expensive, with more than $120 million spent over two years of campaigning, and the first in generations without a ballot design that gave party bosses extraordinary influence. It sets up a general election that will be watched nationally as a test of Trump's appeal in a traditionally blue state that he lost by a closer-than-expected six points last year. Only one other state, Virginia, has a gubernatorial election this year, so both states' outcomes in November will also be read for clues into next year's midterms. In New Jersey, the primary results will be analyzed to see how traditional Democratic machines perform without the 'county line' — a structure used for decades by party leaders that gave the candidates they endorsed favorable placement on the primary ballot. That follows a judge's 2024 decision to toss the line in the Democratic primary and a new law mandating office block ballots for both parties, similar to those used in every other state. Among the Democrats, Rep. Mikie Sherrill has long been the front-runner, but not the prohibitive one. With the backing of many but not all of New Jersey's county leaders, the four-term former Navy helicopter pilot and former federal prosecutor has found herself her opponents' top target for allying with power brokers in Democratic-rich counties in North and Central Jersey. But Sherrill projected herself as the top general election candidate early, using the last few weeks of the primary to reinforce Republican front-runner Jack Ciattarelli's association with Trump and touting legislation she introduced in April to require Elon Musk and top DOGE staff to take drug tests. 'MAGA's coming for New Jersey, with Trump-endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli. We've gotta stop them,' says a recent Sherrill ad. Sherrill has faced the most caustic criticism from rival Steven Fulop, the longtime mayor of Jersey City who eschewed the political bosses he once courted and has run to Sherrill's left with aggressive and detailed policy plans, including support for the type of suburban residential development that has proven a liability for Democrats in general elections. He's called her 'Tammy 2.0,' referring to First Lady Tammy Murphy's dropped bid for U.S. Senator last year that stirred resentment in the party base, and criticized her for refusing to 'take any position that is risky.' Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, is also running to Sherrill's left and has appealed to Democrats by aggressively challenging the Trump administration, resulting in his widely-condemned trespassing arrest at a Newark ICE facility last month. The arrest gave him massive publicity, but does not appear to have propelled him to the front of the field, while his fundraising lags his rivals. Former Senate President Steve Sweeney and Rep. Josh Gottheimer have run more moderate campaigns, with Sweeney voting to repeal New Jersey's policy that limits local law enforcement's cooperation with immigration authorities and Gottheimer pledging to cut property taxes by 15 percent. Meanwhile, Sean Spiller, the former mayor of Montclair and president of the 200,000-member New Jersey Education Association, has run a campaign with progressive messaging fueled almost exclusively by a super PAC funded with $40 million from his union, making it by far the most expensive of any candidate's effort. The size of the field and their extensive resources has led to the most expensive and least predictable statewide primary in decades. And that's largely because of progressives' successful challenge of the county line last year. While this is the second Democratic primary not to feature it (and the first Republican one), the 2024 U.S. Senate primary was over before a judge barred the line since Murphy dropped out and effectively handed the party nomination to Andy Kim While Sherrrill has had a lead in the few public polls released in the race and every leaked internal campaign poll, it's rarely been in the double digits. With six candidates, it's possible a Democratic candidate could win with just 20 percent of the vote. The Republican primary is nothing like the Democratic one. The two main candidates, Bill Spadea and Ciattarelli — who was the Republican nominee in 2021 and came within 3 points of ousting Phil Murphy — spent most of it competing as much for an endorsement of Trump as they did appealing to the state's 1.6 million registered Republicans. Spadea, who has long aired anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election, appeared to be in the running for Trump's endorsement. Ciattarelli had in 2015 called Trump a 'charlatan' and, while he gradually warmed to him, largely sought to avoid association with him in his 2021 campaign. But Ciattarelli recently expressed unbridled support for Trump, while his allies dug through thousands of hours of Spadea's programs to find Trump criticism. They also highlighted fundraising and poll results that showed Ciattarelli way ahead. It culminated with an ebullient Ciattarelli getting a photo op sit down with Trump at his golf club in Bedminster. Not to be outdone, Spadea showed up the next day and met with Trump in the golf club's hallway, but did not post a photo of the encounter. It paid off for Ciattarelli with a Trump endorsement, writing on Truth Social that 'Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100% (PLUS!)' Spadea sought to reassure disappointed supporters by saying Trump 'endorsed a poll, not a plan' in Ciattarelli. But most political observers counted that as the end of the Republican primary, and subsequent events showed it. Spadea has struggled in fundraising, earning only about half of the matching funds he was eligible for from the state. New Jersey's off-year general election in November — along with Virginia — will be read as a bellwether for the 2026 midterms. While Democrats have an 800,000 registered voter advantage over Republicans, New Jersey voters have often been willing to elect Republicans as governor. And the GOP in recent years has gained more than 100,000 voters, while Trump's relatively close loss in the state in 2024 has given Republicans hope of taking the governorship. The election saw well over $120 million poured into it from the candidates themselves, state-financed matching funds that most of them took, and, most of all, super PACs. It's only set to intensify in November, when the field will be less crowded but the stakes higher.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's FTC is digging into Elon Musk's claims about an advertiser ‘boycott'
Happy Tuesday! Here's your weekly Tech Drop, a roundup of the past week's top stories from the intersection of technology and politics. Elon Musk's ostensible departure from the White House and its contentious aftermath certainly haven't stopped the Trump administration from working to further Musk's commercial interests. The Federal Trade Commission recently demanded documents from some of the world's largest ad agencies, following on from Musk's allegations that companies have been engaged in a 'boycott' when they chose not to purchase ads on X due to the prevalence of disinformation and hate speech on the platform. (Several major corporations recently asked a judge to dismiss a related lawsuit brought by X.) Read more at The Wall Street Journal. Meta is making a foray into military technology, starting with plans to develop a virtual reality–enabled headset to train U.S. troops. I laid out some glaring security concerns in a recent post that highlights the company's history of being used by illiberal forces to spread disinformation and promote propaganda linked to violence. Read more at MSNBC. Amid protests in Los Angeles over the Trump administration's authoritarian, anti-immigration raids, several MAGA world figures, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, spread videos on social media that they falsely claimed depicted the city in a state of chaos. In reality, many of the images they shared don't come from the protests at all but were either taken at different times or in other countries entirely. Read more at Meidas Touch. Khaby Lame, a TikTok influencer who is reportedly the most followed person on the app, was forced to leave the U.S. after being detained by ICE agents last week. The agency said that Lame had overstayed his visa and was given the opportunity to leave voluntarily. Read more at MSBNC. Far-right influencer Steve Bannon's podcast, 'WarRoom,' has been welcomed back to Spotify. The audio streaming platform removed Bannon's content in 2020 after he said he'd like to see government officials — like then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and leading immunologist Anthony Fauci — beheaded and their heads put on pikes 'at the two corners of the White House as a warning to federal bureaucrats.' 'Following its temporary suspension and a constructive dialogue with the show's team, new 'Bannon's WarRoom' episodes are available on Spotify,' a spokesperson said in a statement. Read more at the New York Post. In a report released last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., highlighted more than 100 instances of possible corruption by Musk and other White House officials who appear to have advanced his business interests during his time as a 'special government employee.' A White House official referred to the report as 'toothless' in a statement to MSNBC and claimed Musk has done more than Warren to improve Americans' lives. But the statement didn't address any specific allegations. Read more at MSNBC. The University of Michigan says it is ending its contracts with outside vendors that provide plainclothes security, including a technology-focused security company, the Guardian reports. The outlet had previously reported that private investigators had been trailing and recording pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The university said it ended its contract after one of the company's employees engaged in behavior the school said went 'against our values and directives.' Read more at The Guardian. The Trump administration's rush to install AI tools across the federal government continues to run into some snags. An artificial intelligence tool developed by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has caused some problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs over its tendency to spit out false information. Read more at ProPublica. A new report in Wired highlights how the term 'nonlethal,' used in reference to weapons that are often deployed against protesters, doesn't give the full picture of how harmful these weapons can be — or the extent to which their use on civilians is frowned upon in other nations. Read more at Wired. This article was originally published on
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Minister flags concern over BC Ferries' deal with Chinese state-owned shipyard
British Columbia's transport minister has raised concerns with BC Ferries about its decision to have a Chinese shipyard build four new ferries for its passenger fleet, amid an ongoing trade conflict between Canada and China. The winning bidder on the contract announced Tuesday is Chinese state-owned China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards. Mike Farnworth said in a statement he was worried about procuring services from 'any country that is actively harming Canada's economy' with tariffs and protectionism. 'BC Ferries is an independent company responsible for its own operational decisions. While BC Ferries has made its decision to purchase new vessels offshore, I am disappointed more involvement from Canadian shipyards was not part of the contract,' he said. Farnworth's remarks came hours after the announcement by BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez that the Chinese shipyard had been chosen to build its vessels, with the first expected to come into service in 2029 and the others following in six-month intervals. Jimenez said he wasn't worried about geopolitical tensions between Canada and China, adding his primary focus was getting the province a good deal. 'Customers expect us to go source the best possible deal, (the) highest quality, a yard that provides safety, a yard that provides the highest in standards when it comes to oversight (and) labour, and to get the best cost,' he said at a news conference Tuesday. 'When it comes to things like trade policy, industrial policy, geopolitics, I think we would really defer that to the federal and provincial governments and expect them to manage and work those issues.' He said in a news release that the shipyard was 'the clear choice based on the overall strength of its bid.' It said Weihai Shipyards has built vessels for Canada's Marine Atlantic ferry company and other operators such as Corsica Linea and Brittany Ferries of France. Canada and China are engaged in a trade dispute, with Beijing imposing retaliatory tariffs on Canadian canola and meal, peas and seafood after Ottawa slapped levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum. Jimenez said Tuesday that there are currently no tariffs associated with the import of vessels of this type into Canada and tariff disputes didn't factor into the decision. BC Ferries is not releasing the value of the contract other than Jimenez saying it fits within the budget approved by the BC Ferries Commissioner earlier this year. He said releasing the deal before the project is complete could put future procurements at risk. 'To protect BC Ferries and our customers, we've structured the contract in a way that reduces our risk while increasing shipyard accountability. Most of the payment is tied to delivery, and that means the shipyard doesn't get fully paid until the vessels are delivered and meet the rigorous standards that we've laid out in the contract,' he said. 'There are also measures like refund guarantees and fixed price terms that will further protect BC Ferries and our customers.' BC Ferries' head of fleet renewal, Ed Hooper, said no Canadian companies bid on the ships that will carry about 52 per cent more passengers and 24 per cent more vehicles than the ferries they are replacing. Jimenez said 60 per cent of the world's ships are built in China, and BC Ferries did due diligence to make sure it understood the 'technical and delivery and country risks associated with making this decision.' BC Ferries said it will have its own team of experts on-site at the shipyard throughout construction to provide oversight and quality assurance. In a statement, the Opposition BC Conservatives accused Premier David Eby of 'abandoning Canadian workers' by awarding a 'multibillion-dollar' contract to a Chinese state-owned enterprise. The oldest ferry being replaced is the Queen of New Westminster, built in 1964, while the Queen of Cowichan, Queen of Alberni and Queen of Coquitlam all turn 50 next year. BC Ferries had hoped to buy five new vessels and bring its fleet size from 10 to 11 but earlier this year the provincial regulator rejected the pitch, saying a fifth ferry 'is not in the public interest' as it is 'not essential for safe and reliable service and is not fiscally prudent.' The parent company of China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards is China Merchants Industry Holdings. The conglomerate's website describes it as a 'centrally administrated state-owned' enterprise with more than a 100 years of history, making it one of the oldest 'Chinese-funded enterprises' in existence. The website says the company is based in Hong Kong and operates nine major shipyards across the Chinese coast as well as overseas subsidiaries and agencies in countries such as Finland and Germany. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025.
