'Using his son as a prop': Elon Musk draws flak for taking 4-year-old son Lil X to the White House Oval Office

Seems like Elon Musk is making ‘bring your kid to work’ a habit!
The Tech Mogul and Tesla CEO, who is now heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) along with Vivek Ramaswamy under the Trump 2.0 administration, recently met with the President of the United States of America at the Oval Office in the White House. As the head of DOGE, Musk was there for the signing of new executive orders aimed at reducing government spending.

However, Musk was not alone but was accompanied by none other than his 4-year-old son for the conference. As Lil X made his Oval Office debut, he was seen in his element, making all sorts of antics and stealing all the attention! During the conference, Musk found himself so distracted by his son that at one point he lifted X onto his shoulders while the 4-year-old playfully tugged at his ears.

A day in the White House Oval Office is usually filled with weighty discussions, major policies, and high-level decisions. However, this time, all eyes were on ‘Lil X’, as Trump introduced him, saying, “This is X, and he’s a great guy—high IQ!”

After mimicking his billionaire father, Lil X was seen picking his nose as well while at the Oval Office. Trump then seemed to turn away from the child in frustration.
At one point, X also charmed the room by politely excusing himself, saying, “Please forgive me, I need to pee.”
After a while, as Musk scooped the little fellow up on his shoulders, he proved to be a distraction by pulling faces, clinging onto his dad’s shoulders, and interrupting him. While Musk kept answering reporters’ questions, he was seen adjusting his MAGA cap as it was repeatedly shutting his eyes, thanks to Lil X’s relentless distracting activities! With a laugh on his face, Musk said, “Sorry for this! Otherwise, I might enjoy this, but as he’s sticking his fingers in my ears …”
The White House later shared a video of the moment, highlighting “Little X” in a brown coat and what Musk described as a “cool chain.”

Although this isn’t the first time Musk brought his 4-year-old son along with him to ‘work’ and has earned praises for his ‘dad duties’ in the past - this time, the internet has a different take on Musk’s deed. The netizens, this time, were quick to criticize him for using his own son as a ‘prop’.

While one internet user wrote, “Using his son as a prop. Elon Musk doesn't belong in U.S. government,” another commented, “Elon Musk’s son stole the show in the Oval Office today. I love the pro-child message this sends. ‘Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work’.” Another posted, “You know Trump believes children are important work. That's why he went down to Epstein's Island so many times - you know, the place where men went to rape underage girls? Yep, important work for Donald.”
While some users on X praised the child’s behavior, with one writing, “Lil X was very polite today! You raised him well. He was so cute when he told DJT, ‘please forgive me, I need to pee’,” another asked, time and again - “Why is Musk’s little son subjected to being a prop for his dad?” Someone else added on, “Elon Musk is talking about how he's going to cut the deficit in half and his son X is whispering to President Trump and picking his nose.”
Grimes also blasted her ex-boyfriend Elon Musk for parading their kid, through a press appearance like that as the Canadian musician took to X in response to her son’s surprise appearance saying: “He should not be in public like this. I did not see this, thank u for alerting me. But I'm glad he was polite. Sigh.”

Born in May 2020, X or X Æ A-Xii is one of Musk's three kids with singer Grimes. Taking to microblogging site X (formerly known as Twitter), Musk wrote “The middle name of Lil X is A-12, after the Archangel program that resulted in the world's fastest aircraft”.
Originally named X Æ A-12, the child (whom they call X) had to have his name officially changed to X Æ A-Xii in order to align with California laws regarding birth certificates. The child’s name is pronounced “X Ash A Twelve,” Musk explained on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast shortly after his birth.

He said, “First of all, my partner’s the one that mostly came up with the name. It’s just X, the letter X, and then the ‘Æ’ is pronounced, ‘Ash,’ and then, ‘A-12’ is my contribution.”
Grimes said that the "A" in the name also represents "Archangel," which is her favorite song.
Before bringing Lil X to Oval Office, Musk had already attended a meeting regarding the fledgling Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), at Capitol Hill in December last year. Back then as well, Lil X was seen sitting on Musk’s shoulders, having a fun time!
Before that, Musk brought Lil X, who was only 19-months-old back then, to the Person of the Year event in 2021, where he stole the spotlight during a SpaceX video presentation. Musk was seen holding baby X on his lap during the in-person interview in New York City. For the event, the kid was dressed in an adorable sweatshirt printed with tractors and mountains and a pair of olive-coloured jeans.