The world is finding out what happens when the world’s most powerful man and world’s richest man get into a fight. The once-glowing relationship between US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk has erupted into a public feud that may have far-reaching consequences. Devan Leos, a tech entrepreneur and AI expert, recently issued a bold prediction while speaking with the New York Post. He said that if tensions continue to escalate, President Trump could use executive powers to label Musk’s social media company X a national security threat and ban it outright.
“The President possesses executive authority to declare X a national security risk, which would permit him to ban the platform outright,” Leos told NY Post. Leos is a co-founder of Undetectable AI, a tool used to humanise AI-generated text.
According to Leos, this escalating war of words could push Musk to retaliate by banning Trump from X. But such a move could backfire dramatically. “That would almost certainly trigger an executive response from the White House,” he warned.
The rift between the US President and the billionaire tech mogul played out openly this week, marked by sharp personal jabs, political threats and a steep decline in Tesla’s market value.
Leos also suggested Trump could use Musk’s past remarks or alleged ties to classified information as legal grounds for action. “If he is referencing something that is classified or privileged information, that could be considered a national security threat,” he said.
The 911 Presidency
Leos’ prediction finds ground when we look at the data related to the use of emergency powers by the American Presidents. Although President Trump frequently claims that the United States is recovering under his leadership, he has been invoking emergency powers at an unprecedented level, AP reported.
From imposing steep tariffs and sending troops to the southern border to bypassing environmental regulations, Trump has repeatedly turned to laws and rules originally designed for rare and extraordinary situations, such as war or national crisis.
An analysis by the Associated Press revealed that 30 out of Trump’s 150 executive orders have relied on some form of emergency authority. The number outpaces that of recent presidents.