美国国防部发布的照片显示，国防部长皮特·赫格斯于2025年3月21日在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的五角大楼欢迎埃隆·马斯克 。

This photo released by the Department of Defense shows Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth welcoming Elon Musk to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on March 21, 2025.   Senior Airman Spencer Perkins/Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs。

President Donald Trump pushed back on reports that DOGE head Elon Musk was being briefed on US military plans for a potential war with China   while at the Pentagon   on Friday, saying he wouldn’t want show such plans “to anybody.”

“I don’t want to show it to anybody. You know you’re talking about a potential war with China,” Trump said in remarks from the Oval Office. “We don’t want to have a potential war with China, but I can tell you, if we did, we’re very well equipped to handle it.”

Trump’s comments came amid speculation over why Musk was at the Pentagon on Friday morning, where he met with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for over an hour. The New York Times reported Thursday that Musk was receiving a briefing on the US military’s plan for potential conflict with China. Pentagon officials resoundingly dismissed the reporting on social media on Thursday.

Trump acknowledged Friday that Musk also has his own business interests in China, which could pose a conflict of interest if he was briefed on a potential war plan with the nation.

“I don’t want to show that to anybody – but certainly, you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much,” the president said. “You know, Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that – but it was such a fake story.”

CNN has reported   that Musk — who is serving as a special government employee under Trump — has a top-secret security clearance. The meeting also comes as the Pentagon is   weighing significant cuts   to the top of the military amid efforts across the Trump administration to shrink the government.