Elon Musk's social media service X is planning to make a major foray into politics ahead of the U.S. presidential election by hosting live video town hall meetings with former presidents Donald J. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to a person familiar with the plans.
No date has been set or moderator chosen for the town hall, which will be produced in partnership with cable TV network NewsNation, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans have not yet been made public. X users will be able to ask questions of the presidential candidates during the event.
Kennedy appeared on NewsNation on Wednesday night and confirmed that he plans to take part in the town hall meeting, adding that Musk had suggested he use the platform.
X has been transformed under Musk's ownership, with the billionaire slashing his workforce, overhauling its technology and using the platform to further his own personal agenda.
The town hall took place after Trump and Musk met in March. The X owner has posted more frequently about President Biden in recent months, criticizing him on a range of issues, including his age and immigration policies. X has invited Biden to hold a town hall on the platform, but the campaign has not responded, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Musk has stopped short of endorsing Trump, who was banned from Twitter after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and quickly reinstated the former president after renaming it X. Musk has called on Trump to return to using X.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Trump appearance on X, even if just for a town hall meeting, could bring new viewership to the platform, which has struggled under Musk's leadership as advertisers pull back over concerns about hate speech and misinformation being broadcast on the platform.
The platform has long been known as a text-centric social media service, but under CEO Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal advertising executive, the company has increasingly been incorporating video capabilities.
She has inked numerous deals to produce video content with TV personalities, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard and reality TV star and DJ Paris Hilton.
Yaccarino approached NewsNation parent company Nexstar about the town hall idea and has been working out the details as part of an effort to turn X into a video platform, according to a person familiar with the matter. The town halls were previously reported by Axios.