Elon Musk, owner of the social platform X, posted what appeared to be a manipulated image of Vice President Harris dressed in red military garb with the communist symbol of the hammer and sickle.
“Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one. Can you believe she wears that outfit!?” Musk, who has endorsed former President Trump’s 2024 White House bid, wrote in a post Sunday on X, along with the fake image.
His message was posted in response to an earlier X post from Harris.
“Donald Trump vows to be a dictator on day one,” a graphic posted by Harris reads in bold, capital letters, in the foreground. Behind the words is a black-and-white photo of former President Trump, depicting him from midface to midtorso.
“We won’t let him,” Harris wrote in the caption of her post.
Musk’s post prompted some initial criticism from X users, who noted the company’s own rules prohibit the sharing of “synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm.”
The rules allow for “memes or satire” as long as “these do not cause significant confusion about the authenticity of the media.”
The Hill has reached out to X for comment.
Trump allies have criticized their Democratic opponents for frequently quoting Trump saying he would be a dictator only on “day one.”
That comment initially came during a Fox News town hall in December, when host Sean Hannity prompted Trump to assuage voter concerns, once and for all, and promise the American people that he “would never abuse power as retribution against anybody.”
Trump made no such promise, instead responding to Hannity’s question with a caveat.
“Except for day one,” he said, adding, “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
When Hannity noted that drilling isn’t retribution, Trump turned to the live audience and offered a summary of the exchange.
“We love this guy,” Trump said of Hannity. “He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’”