During a joint press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday with Elon Musk, President Donald Trump seemed to abruptly turn away from Musk’s son after the youngster appeared to say something.

While Musk was speaking to the journalists, his son, who stood in front of him, seemed to utter another remark, prompting Trump to reach out in an attempt to hush the child as his father talked.

At one stage, the child also seemed to pick his nose, which is typical behaviour for someone his age.

Musk has often brought his son, known as X Æ A-Xii but commonly referred to by Musk as X, to numerous events throughout the campaign. Social media users were quick to judge Musk for having his son present at the event on Tuesday, with some even accusing him of using the boy as a “prop.”

“Using his son as a prop. Elon Musk doesn’t belong in US government,” one user commented on X.

“My concern is for Musk’s little son. Why is he subjected to being a prop for his Dad?” another expressed, reports the Irish Star.

Musk was present at the press conference for the signing of an executive order aimed at shrinking the federal workforce.

The Associated Press examined a White House fact sheet about the order, revealing that “agencies will undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force and determine which agency components (or agencies themselves) may be eliminated or combined because their functions aren’t required by law.”

The report also stated that agencies should “hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service.”

Exceptions are being planned for immigration, law enforcement and public safety. Trump has tasked Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE with identifying wasteful government spending within federal agencies.

However, Musk is already facing resistance from the federal courts regarding DOGE’s access to sensitive Treasury Department records and attempts to put thousands of USAID employees on leave. US District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, issued an order on Friday blocking an order that would have given thousands of overseas USAID workers just 30 days to relocate their families and households back to the US at government expense.

The following day, US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer prevented DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records containing sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.

Less than an hour after Musk and Trump concluded their joint press conference on Tuesday, a federal appeals court refused to halt a judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in federal grants and loans. States claim the money remains frozen even after a court blocked a sweeping pause on federal funding.

The Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an urgent appeal but indicated that it anticipates the lower court judge to promptly clarify his ruling. According to the Justice Department, the extensive directive from the lower court to maintain the flow of all federal grants and loans constitutes “intolerable judicial overreach.”

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