GUWAHATI: In an interview with Shawn Ryan on the “Shawn Ryan Show,” former US President Donald Trump recently outlined his future administration and the role Tesla CEO Elon Musk could play in it.

Although Trump had said he would have liked to appoint Musk to his cabinet, he declined because he believed Musk did not have the time, in addition to his other commitments, to take on the responsibilities that come with such a position.

Trump respected Musk’s expertise, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, and felt the billionaire could still contribute a lot. He expressed that while Musk was willing to serve, he had too many business deals, which would make it difficult for him to fulfill Cabinet duties.

Trump also indicated that Musk would have a voice, especially on the subject of AI, even if it was not in the cabinet.

Trump said he doesn’t want the US to be left behind in AI, especially by China. He said this in the context of the fact that America needs to be ahead in AI and if America can’t do that, “fairly” China will.

He added that China is currently working on a very large energy project, while nothing of the sort seems to be planned in America.

Trump described Musk as an “interesting character” and a “genius” and pontificated that the country must “treat people like that with great respect.” He continued to flatter Musk and tried to show that he admired how smart and pro-American Musk was. He said, “Musk is willing to cut fat, and he knows it.”

Trump described the upcoming election as crucial, saying: “We have to win this election. November 5th could be the most decisive day in the history of our country. If the country goes in the wrong direction in this election, I think it is doomed.”

He also mentioned how popular the recent podcast episode with Musk was, citing the huge audience. Trump said he was told the episode had hundreds of millions of listeners, possibly the largest audience ever; some estimates put it as high as 750 million.