The White House has called Elon Musk “irresponsible” after he posted on social media that “no one is even trying” to assassinate Joe Biden or Kamala Harris.
The billionaire posted the comment on his X social media platform, followed by a thinking emoji. But he later deleted it and said it was intended as a joke.
His comment followed the apparent attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Sunday, which came after an attempt on the former president’s life at one of his rallies in July.
The White House rebuked Mr Musk in a statement. “Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about. This rhetoric is irresponsible,” said spokesperson Andrew Bates.
The Space X and Tesla boss took the post down early on Monday, having earlier stuck by it.
“Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X,” he said.
Mr Musk is a well-known backer of Trump for November’s US election, and routinely posts in support of the Republican candidate.
He also hosted him for an interview on X last month.
His decision to delete the post came as investigations continue into the incident at Mr Trump’s Florida golf course, where Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a rifle poking through bushes.
Read more from Sky News:
Biden says Secret Service needs more help
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested at hotel
Questions are being asked about how the suspect was able to spend 12 hours on the course before being spotted.
The former president said yesterday that the apparent attempt on his life was a “much better result” than the first assassination attempt at a rally in July, as no bystanders were wounded or killed.
One person died, and two people were critically injured, when a gunman shot at Mr Trump during the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Mr Trump suffered a wound to his ear, while the gunman was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper team.