During a live conversation with former President Donald Trump, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk emphasized the critical importance of Trump returning to the White House in the 2024 election.

On Monday, Musk said, "I think, really, it’s essential that you win – for the good of the country – this election," adding, "That’s understating my opinion."

Musk's conversation with Trump drew an audience of over one million viewers on the official broadcast via the social media platform X.

On the other hand, the 2024 campaign for US Vice President Kamala Harris accused Musk of trying to manipulate democracy in the United States through his platform.

"Musk already ruined Twitter by allowing hate speech and disinformation to flood the platform. Now, Musk is using his vast fortune and broad reach to try to control our democracy," the Harris campaign said in a statement.

The statement added that Musk is using social media platform X to spread Trump’s "unhinged and hateful agenda" to millions of people. Musk is a "lackey" for Trump, the statement added.

Trump would be 'a genuine danger to American security'

Earlier on Monday, US President Joe Biden said it was his “obligation to the country” to withdraw his candidacy from the presidential race, adding that it would be “a genuine danger to American security” if his Republican counterpart Trump emerged victorious in the upcoming November elections. 

“Although I have the great honor to be president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do the most important thing you can do, and that is we must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” Biden said in an interview with CBS News on Sunday.

The US leader shared he did not take the decision to withdraw lightly, and that it was composed of a series of circumstances that prevented him from seeking re-election, especially the lack of confidence from senior House and Senate Democrats who feared the president's unpopularity would hurt the party's potential victory in the November polls.