5 ms·

Elon Musk is another Trump in the making. Only difference is Elon Musk is smart enough not to foot gun himself when he actually asserts his power.

simonh 6y ago
"Still not pointy enough. Oh, and make the next one gold. I wonder if rhinestones would work for heat shielding - check it out."
29athrowaway 6y ago
He was not born in America so he cannot be a president.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  You don't have to be born in America to be President, but you do need to be a natural-born citizen. Of course, the idea of amending the Constitution to remove that requirement to clear the path for a particular candidate (not that long ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger was mentioned) has come up before; current restrictions won't necessarily apply indefinitely into the future.
  - pbhjpbhj 6y ago
    Is your distinction that it has to be USA territories - colonies like Guam, Puerto Rico? - but not necessarily USA proper, so military bases and consulates count (?) but could be termed 'outside USA' or is something else going on here?
    - adwww 6y ago
      Yes, but also includes a person born abroad to parents who are United States citizens.
    - meepmorp 6y ago
      Iirc, when John McCain (born in Panama) was running against Obama, Congress passed legislation clarifying that people born on military bases abroad still counted as natural born citizens for electoral purposes.
      - dragonwriter 6y ago
        McCain wasn't born abroad any more than if he had been born in D.C.; he was born on a US Naval Base in a US Territory. Also, a statute passed when he was running for President almost certainly could not have any effect on whether or not he was Constitutionally a natural born citizen.
        meepmorp 6y ago
        I wasn't arguing that he was anything but a natural born citizen of the US, merely noting that legislation to clarify that case, in particular, was passed at the time.
        dragonwriter 6y ago
        Legislation was not passed; a nonbinding Senate resolution was passed (legislation requires both Houses and either signature by the President or a veto override.) https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-resolution/511 https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-resoluti...
        meepmorp 6y ago
        Well, then, my apologies for the error. Do you feel better now?
    - dragonwriter 6y ago
      No, the distinction is that “natural-born citizen” is a phrase in the Constitution about which there is some debate about it's exact meaning, but the dominant understanding is “citizen by law at birth and not later naturalized” rather than “born in the United States”.
      - pbhjpbhj 6y ago
        >dominant understanding is “citizen by law at birth and not later naturalized” rather than “born in the United States” // OK, that didn't clarify much for me, I'll have a look myself. I'm guessing now that there are other ways to be a citizen when born abroad, like 'born to USA citizens and repatriated within 5 years' or somesuch. https://www.findlaw.com/immigration/citizenship/u-s-citizenship-through-parents-or-by-birth.html https://www.findlaw.com/immigration/citizenship/u-s-citizens... seems useful from a source I generally trust but have not corroborated.
  - 29athrowaway 6y ago
    Well, sure. Strictly speaking, jus solis or jus sanguinis. e.g.: You are born in international waters to US citizen parents.
- diveanon 6y ago
  Americans dont have a monopoly on self absorbed totalitarian assholes.
grumple 6y ago
I suspect he is not actually that smart - his interview with 60 minutes, for example, made him seem childish and foolish. These incidents just haven't been widely publicized. But the way Musk's name gets casually mentioned in tv shows reminds me of Trump.

simonh 6y ago

"Still not pointy enough. Oh, and make the next one gold. I wonder if rhinestones would work for heat shielding - check it out."

29athrowaway 6y ago

He was not born in America so he cannot be a president.

dragonwriter 6y ago
You don't have to be born in America to be President, but you do need to be a natural-born citizen. Of course, the idea of amending the Constitution to remove that requirement to clear the path for a particular candidate (not that long ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger was mentioned) has come up before; current restrictions won't necessarily apply indefinitely into the future.
- pbhjpbhj 6y ago
  Is your distinction that it has to be USA territories - colonies like Guam, Puerto Rico? - but not necessarily USA proper, so military bases and consulates count (?) but could be termed 'outside USA' or is something else going on here?
  - adwww 6y ago
    Yes, but also includes a person born abroad to parents who are United States citizens.
  - meepmorp 6y ago
    Iirc, when John McCain (born in Panama) was running against Obama, Congress passed legislation clarifying that people born on military bases abroad still counted as natural born citizens for electoral purposes.
    - dragonwriter 6y ago
      McCain wasn't born abroad any more than if he had been born in D.C.; he was born on a US Naval Base in a US Territory. Also, a statute passed when he was running for President almost certainly could not have any effect on whether or not he was Constitutionally a natural born citizen.
      - meepmorp 6y ago
        I wasn't arguing that he was anything but a natural born citizen of the US, merely noting that legislation to clarify that case, in particular, was passed at the time.
        dragonwriter 6y ago
        Legislation was not passed; a nonbinding Senate resolution was passed (legislation requires both Houses and either signature by the President or a veto override.) https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-resolution/511 https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-resoluti...
        meepmorp 6y ago
        Well, then, my apologies for the error. Do you feel better now?
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    No, the distinction is that “natural-born citizen” is a phrase in the Constitution about which there is some debate about it's exact meaning, but the dominant understanding is “citizen by law at birth and not later naturalized” rather than “born in the United States”.
    - pbhjpbhj 6y ago
      >dominant understanding is “citizen by law at birth and not later naturalized” rather than “born in the United States” // OK, that didn't clarify much for me, I'll have a look myself. I'm guessing now that there are other ways to be a citizen when born abroad, like 'born to USA citizens and repatriated within 5 years' or somesuch. https://www.findlaw.com/immigration/citizenship/u-s-citizenship-through-parents-or-by-birth.html https://www.findlaw.com/immigration/citizenship/u-s-citizens... seems useful from a source I generally trust but have not corroborated.
- 29athrowaway 6y ago
  Well, sure. Strictly speaking, jus solis or jus sanguinis. e.g.: You are born in international waters to US citizen parents.
diveanon 6y ago
Americans dont have a monopoly on self absorbed totalitarian assholes.

grumple 6y ago

I suspect he is not actually that smart - his interview with 60 minutes, for example, made him seem childish and foolish. These incidents just haven't been widely publicized. But the way Musk's name gets casually mentioned in tv shows reminds me of Trump.