The view in the Oval Office was at least unusual: a boy dressed as a man, making faces, whispering to the president, and sticking his fingers in his father's ears. At the same time, Papa Musk was outlining widespread corruption and fraud within the federal apparatus – much of which has been found to lack foundation.
The appearance at the White House was Elon Musk's "efficiency chief" first official since the shift in power. And, as many times before, his son X Æ A-Xii, often called X or Lil X, was by his side.
This is X, and he's a top-notch guy. High IQ, the president said, seemingly in good humor.
Elon Musk has at least twelve children with three different mothers, one of whom died at an early age. The Tesla and X CEO advocates for natalism – increased reproduction as a means of ensuring humanity's survival. An ideology that has gained more ground both in Silicon Valley and among white power groups in the USA.
Questioned
According to Laura Lovett, a history professor at the University of Pittsburgh, who has written a book about the natalist movement, X's presence in the Oval Office – and Trump's presentation of the child – shows how the ideology is growing in the USA in line with Trump's policies on abortion and reproduction. She goes so far as to draw parallels to eugenics, the doctrine of controlling humanity through selective breeding.
In this case, it's about what used to be called "positive eugenics", or encouraging the "right people" to have larger families, which is very much in line with what Musk is doing.
Others see X's presence as a way for Musk to paint a more human image of himself. According to CNN, many critics question how suitable it is to expose a small child to that kind of publicity. Social media is overflowing with users accusing Musk of using his son as a human shield.
Mother unaware
It's clear that X appears to be Musk's favorite in the large brood. The boy has been seen on the entrepreneur's shoulders on numerous occasions over the past few years – during everything from a visit to Auschwitz to a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who asked Musk where the boy's mother was.
"Little X is my emotional support", Musk wrote on X last year.
The boy's mother, musician Grimes, has previously told Vanity Fair that Musk sees the son as his "protégé" and takes him everywhere. But she didn't know that her ex-partner would take their son to the White House.
"He shouldn't be in the public eye like this", she wrote on X on Tuesday.
