Don Lemon found himself in a heated exchange with TikToker Will John about Elon Musk’s alleged influence on Donald Trump. The debate unfolded as Lemon questioned passersby in New York about claims that Musk, CEO of X, was being seen as a “shadow president” over Trump.
“Who is the real president-elect, you think?” Lemon asked John.
“Donald Trump won, I believe,” John replied confidently.
Lemon pressed further, citing Democratic lawmakers who joked about Trump being Musk’s vice president. John was quick to dismiss it. “What? Wait a second, no. No one said that,” he shot back.
Lemon pushed harder. “Really? Have you not paid attention—”
“Absolutely not,” John interrupted. “I’m paying attention to my own life to get ahead.”
Determined to prove his point, Lemon urged John to search "President Musk" on his phone. John complied but called it “a loaded question” while looking.
John found reports from major outlets using the term, which Lemon saw as validation. But John wasn’t swayed. “We don’t trust any of this,” he declared. “The common man doesn’t trust the government or the mainstream news. Independent news is where people turn now.”
Lemon conceded, saying, “I can’t disagree with you.”
Other pedestrians gave mixed reactions to Lemon’s question. One woman dismissed the idea entirely. “I haven’t seen that personally. It’s odd that people would call him that,” she said. Another called it “just internet chatter,” questioning Musk’s role in politics.
One respondent took a different view. “He’s influencing the government, not in an election-style, but definitely influencing,” she said. Lemon followed up, asking how Trump might react to Musk being called “President Musk.”
“Forever. He likes money,” she replied bluntly.
A man in the crowd admitted he’d heard the term but argued Musk was more like a vice president-elect, with Trump still in charge. “It’s over. Musk cheerleading Trump politically? It’s the end of America as we know it,” he said.
Liberal pundits like Chris Hayes also chimed in, insisting Musk held significant sway over Trump. “He’s not just Trump’s co-president. That’s too low a title,” Hayes argued on MSNBC.
Trump’s camp pushed back hard against the narrative. Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s incoming press secretary, told Fox News, “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.”