Tag: elon musk
Elon Musk

If Musk Is Really Worried By Deficits, He Should Back Democrats

Elon Musk warned that if Republicans passed their big domestic policy bill, he would form a new "America Party" to primary those who voted for it. He doesn't need a new party. He has his old one, the Democrats.

Many Democrats have grown to intensely dislike Musk, and they have their reasons. His prancing around with a chainsaw as he gleefully fired thousands of valued federal employees was ugly. But his most damaging act was spending nearly $300 million to get Donald Trump reelected.

As it happens, the right doesn't like Musk, either. Trump's serial abuse of him is something to behold. When Musk opposed his "big beautiful" bill, Trump let loose on Truth Social. "Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back to South Africa," Trump bellowed. "No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production ... BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!"

Look, Musk is a weird guy. He's been a genius at building new companies, making him the richest person on earth. But his understanding of human behavior is sketchy, especially with a personality as diabolical as Trump's. By putting Musk at the head of DOGE, Trump made him the fall guy for unpopular budget cuts.

A longtime Democrat, Musk was turned off by the woke thing. It's true that Democrats let some activists' obsession with transgender issues and use of pronouns get out of hand. The reality is that most Democrats are moderate.

If Musk wants to exert power in primary races, he'd have more impact in Democratic primaries. Removing fringe leftists from the national stage would do a world of good for Democrats, helping the party regain control of Congress. In sum, Musk could use his smarts, money and control of X to support the Democratic mainstream.

Trump has argued that Musk is angry because the bill ends federal subsidies for electric vehicles. Why the man who built up Tesla went over to the anti-EV side mystifies to this day. But Trump was correct in noting that "Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate."

Fact check time: There is no EV mandate, never was. The subsidy was to encourage people to buy EVs. No one had to. It was also to help domestic automakers compete in a world that is rapidly moving to electric vehicles.

Musk's association with Trump has trashed Tesla sales in this country and in Europe. A reconnection with the worldwide campaign for green energy could make Teslas cool again. In any case, a return to the environmental fold — which the eccentric Musk could pull off — would become a spectacular turnaround.

Musk's description of the massive bill as "the biggest debt increase in history" is accurate. It's odd how little Americans recognize that Democrats have been better at controlling deficits and growing the economy than Republicans.

Democrat Bill Clinton was the only president to balance the budget in over half a century. Republican George W. Bush ran through the surpluses, leaving Barack Obama with the Great Recession and a deficit of nearly $2 trillion. (This and the numbers that follow are in today's dollars.) By his last year, Obama brought deficits down to $759 billion.

Trump in his first term oversaw an almost $1 trillion deficit before COVID, almost $4 trillion in his last year. Joe Biden brought deficits down to $1.87 trillion by his last year — and that was after big investments in America's infrastructure and chip manufacturing.

Today's budget monstrosity is projected to increase budget deficits by roughly $4 trillion over the next decade.

Musk should return to the Democratic Party, and Democrats should welcome him.

Reprinted with permission from Creators.

Donald Trump

Deport Musk? Break Out The Popcorn For Don And Elon's New Slapfest

It won’t come as much of a surprise that our…cough cough…president was awake at 12:44 this morning in the White House with his personal phone in his hand making threats on Truth Social against his one-time pal, the deficit slasher whose waste, fraud, and abuse cuts ended up costing more money than they saved:

“Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”

Why did Donny have his Depends in a wad, you might ask? Elon was threatening to form a new political party and run candidates against every Republican who voted for Trump’s Big Deficit-Busting Bill:

“It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country—the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”

And then Musk, who only a month ago had announced that he would be cutting back on his political spending, posted this:

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this earth.”

The bill passed the Senate yesterday morning, of course, and heads over to the House, where Speaker Mike “Biblical Law” Johnson will push it through despite the fact that it will probably close half the rural hospitals in his state of Louisiana.

$930 billion in Medicaid cuts. $120 billion in SNAP food stamp cuts. 12 million fewer people will receive Medicaid benefits according to the Congressional Budget Office.

$3.3 trillion added to the budget deficit over the next ten years, but who’s counting?

Elon Musk, that’s who.

Trump hadn’t gotten back on Air Force One yet from his visit to the Everglades site of his newest concentration camp, which they’re calling “Alligator Alcatraz.” But look for him calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to use the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ to go after Elon’s naturalization as a citizen.

Yep, that’s a thing. They announced yesterday that the division of the DOJ that used to sue counties in the South for denying Black citizens the right to vote will now be used to strip some naturalized Americans of their citizen ship:

“The Civil Division shall prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence," wrote Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate in a memo.

Elon, a former citizen of South Africa, is naturalized. Asked on his way out of the White House to get on Air Force One if he has plans to deport Elon Musk, Trump answered, “I don't know, we'll have to take a look.”

Keep your popcorn handy and make sure your microwave is working. This is going to be good.

Reprinted with permission from Lucian Truscott Newsletter.

Raging Musk Now Threatens Members Of Congress Who Support Trump Budget

Raging Musk Now Threatens Members Of Congress Who Support Trump Budget

Billionaire Elon Musk is threatening to target members of Congress for defeat if they support President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after campaigning on promises to cut government spending. Although Musk did not specifically name a party, no Democrat is expected to back the budget measure.

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” Musk wrote late Monday afternoon, as the Senate began voting on the legislation. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Musk’s threat comes after his numerous attacks on the bill—which is critical to Trump’s agenda—based largely on its massive increases to the federal debt.

“It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!” Musk declared one hour earlier. “Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”

New York magazine’s Intelligencer reported on Monday that Musk is “not done” fighting Trump.

“How can you call yourself the Freedom Caucus if you vote for a DEBT SLAVERY bill with the biggest debt ceiling increase in history?” Musk also wrote, lashing out at the far-right caucus, and mentioning two Members by name: Reps. Andy Harris of Maryland, the group’s chairman, and Chip Roy of Texas.

On Saturday, Musk had warned, “The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”

“Polls show that this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party,” he also warned.

New York noted that “Trump, presumably, isn’t thrilled about Musk’s last-minute attempt to sink his signature legislative package. But so far he’s refrained from hitting back.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Musk Blowup's Fallout: Trump Allies Keep Turning On Each Other

Musk Blowup's Fallout: Trump Allies Keep Turning On Each Other

President Donald Trump's public falling out with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is now prompting additional infighting in MAGA circles between some of Trump's most high-profile supporters.

Semafor reported Monday that "War Room" podcast host Steve Bannon – who was White House chief strategist in the first Trump administration – is now setting his sights on venture capitalist and second Trump administration AI czar David Sacks (who is close to Musk and co-hosts the popular "All In" podcast). The MAGA pundit mentioned Sacks on a recent episode of his podcast, and accused him of exploiting his relationship to Trump to further his own goals.

"You’re dangerous," Bannon said of Sacks and his co-hosts. "It’s all about you, not the country."

However, Trump administration spokesperson Harrison Fields said that Sacks was "deeply committed to advancing the president's vision" on cryptocurrency and AI issues, and credited the billionaire Trump donor with being "a trusted ally and early supporter of President Trump."

While the White House defended Sacks himself, an unnamed source told Semafor that the administration was indeed having ongoing conversations "regarding the future of some of these big names that came to the federal government in that wave of Elon [Musk] coming here." The source also teased the possibility of some of Musk's hires being let go, calling it a "mutual separation" between the tech billionaire's team and the administration.

Whether Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — which has spent the first several months of 2025 slashing the federal workforce across multiple agencies – remains in place is also an open question. Some DOGE staffers reportedly have been texting each other wondering if their own jobs will be next on the chopping block. Semafor's source also said that while the work itself of reducing the federal workforce may continue, Trump may rebrand it.

“Maybe we don’t call it DOGE,” the source said. “The mission is what we want to stay focused on.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

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