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‘The Donkey Knows More than Maduro’: Musk Trolls Incumbent Venezuelan President After Contested Election

Maduro: ‘Elon Musk, do you want a fight? Let's give it a shot’

Published: July 29, 2024
  |   By Chris Karr
‘The Donkey Knows More than Maduro’: Musk Trolls Incumbent Venezuelan President After Contested Election

Elon Musk criticized and insulted the incumbent president of Venezuela following a contested election on Monday.


Nicolás Maduro, who has been the president of the South American country since 2013, proclaimed a victory despite independent exit polls indicating that his opponent, Edmundo González, won in a landslide.

AP News reports that “the ruling party wields a tight control over the voting system” in Venezuela “through a loyal five-member electoral council and a network of longtime local party coordinators who get near unrestricted access to voting centers.”

Amid protests following the announcement that Maduro won, giant posters of the leader were torn down.


"We're fed up with this, we want freedom, we want to be free for our children," Fernando Mejia, a 41-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, told Reuters during a march in the city of Maracay with his family.

Musk reposted a video of Maduro’s poster being removed and commented, “The people of Venezuela have had enough of this clown.”


In subsequent posts, Musk accused Maduro of election fraud and referred to the outcome as a “travesty.” The X owner cited a post that included data from Edison research indicating that 65 percent of voters opted for González and only 31 percent voted for Maduro.

In an X post, González said, “The results are undeniable. The country chose a peaceful change.”


In an apparent response to Musk’s provocations on X, Maduro slammed the billionaire during a press conference.

“Thank goodness you showed your face, because we knew that you were behind everything Elon Musk, with your money, with your satellites,” Maduro said, according to an English translation of his comments printed in Ultimas Noticias, a Spanish-language subsidiary of NBCUniversal.

“He intends to control the world, he controls Argentina, he is going after the lithium of you Argentine people,” he continued. “He already controls Ecuador, he is the representation of the fascist ideology in the world, he is the economic power supporting the far-right fascist ideology.”

“Elon Musk, you’re desperate, you’ve made a mistake, control yourself,” Maduro said, warning Musk that anyone who contends with him or his country “goes dry.”

“Elon Musk, do you want a fight? Let's give it a shot, I'm ready, I'm the son of Bolívar and Chávez. I'm not afraid of you, but Venezuela is respected. We do not accept interventionism from anyone,” he added.

Musk reposted a video of Maduro’s comments with a statement in Spanish that translates to “the donkey knows more than Maduro.”

The post is currently pinned to the top of Musk’s X account.

“Sorry for comparing the poor donkey with Maduro. It is an insult to the animal world,” Musk wrote in Spanish in a follow-up post.


Musk also reposted comments from El Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele and Argentine President Javier Milei condemning the election as fraudulent.

“Not even [Maduro] believes the electoral scam he is celebrating. Neither does the Argentine Republic,” Milei wrote, according to a translation provided by Google on X. “LONG LIVE F---ING FREEDOM.”

"We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, per ABC News. "It's critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently that election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay.”

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