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SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS have been circulating claiming that Elon Musk “forgot” his child at a rally for Donald Trump.
The incident happened at a pre-inauguration event at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC on 19 January.
At the event, Trump beckoned Musk to the stage and his son followed.
While the rally happened last month, footage captured by people in the audience has appeared widely online this week, alongside claims that Musk “forgot” his son.
In a widely shared video, Musk walks off stage as Trump speaks and waves to the crowds, while his four-year-old son X Æ A-12 walks behind him.
Musk’s son also waves to the crowd and lags behind on the stairs, while Musk appears to disappear and leave his son.
The so-called genius forgot his human shield son. What a loving father. pic.twitter.com/p4Pvy4bIXk
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) February 23, 2025
“Wait, you’re leaving your little boy,” a woman can be heard to say in this clip.
“Elon Musk walks off and leaves his 4-year-old son wandering off stage by himself,” reads one post accompanying the video on the social media platform X, which is owned by Musk.
“This clip legitimately disturbs—and saddens—me,” adds the post, which has garnered over 20 million views and close to 110,000 likes.
Another post on X featuring the clip, which has over 27 million views and 128,000 likes, states: “The so-called genius forgot his human shield son. What a loving father.”
While the video is authentic, a longer version of this incident from a different angle has since been shared online, which reveals that Musk turned his head and noticed his son was not nearby.
Musk then walks towards his son, makes a cheering gesture to him and the two leave the area side-by-side.
You’re such a fucking liar. I was there. Fuck you. pic.twitter.com/EFOtyBe05g
— Rebecca G (@Smoke_and_Oakum) February 24, 2025
At the pre-inauguration event at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC last month, Musk told the crowd: “Little X just followed me on the stage here, he’s a very enthusiastic supporter as you can see.”
He added that he was “looking forward to making a lot of changes” and to “set the foundation for America to be strong forever and to Make America Great Again”.
“We’re gonna do great things here”, added Musk before leaving the stage with his son.
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