Donald Trump called Elon Musk and told him to restore full access to the Starshield system.

Posted by The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Oct 23, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictMixed

Sources: 1 contradict3 support2 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 55%

The Briefing with Jen PsakiOct 23, 2026

Multiple outlets (NYT, CNN, citing anonymous officials or a person familiar with the matter) report that Trump called Musk and asked him to restore Ukraine's full Starshield access, but Reuters reports Trump denied speaking to Musk personally, and Trump himself declined to confirm the call.

A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.

What we found

Contradicts. Reuters reports that Trump said Musk had restored services but denied having spoken to Musk personally about it.[1]

Supports. NYT reports that Trump called Musk last week and asked him to restore Ukraine's full access to Starshield, according to a senior administration official and a person briefed on the exchange.[2]

Supports. CNN reports, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Trump asked Musk in a phone call in recent days to restore Ukraine's full access to the Starshield system.[3][4]

Context. Trump declined to say whether he had called Musk, saying 'whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference'; the White House pointed only to his remarks.[2][5]

Context. Reporting that the call occurred comes from anonymous sources; the claim's 'told him to restore full access' is a characterization of the reported request, and the post itself hedged with 'reportedly'.[2][3][6]