Just some months in the past, Elon Musk was wielding a chainsaw on stage at CPAC as he bragged about how he was going to dismantle the federal authorities. The billionaire oligarch helped shut down USAID, accessed personal data on U.S. citizens, and tried to steal a whole $500 million building. However now Musk appears to be totally coming into his “woe is me” stage. And it’s pathetic to observe.
Musk sat down for 2 new interviews lately, one with the Washington Submit and one other with CBS Sunday Morning, which is scheduled to air this Sunday. And it looks as if Musk is leaning into the concept he’s just a few poor, persecuted man who’s being bullied merely for making an attempt to assist America. Musk’s so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) isn’t the unhealthy man, he insists.
“DOGE is simply turning into the whipping boy for every part,” Musk instructed the Washington Post. “So, like, one thing unhealthy would occur anyplace, and we’d get blamed for it even when we had nothing to do with it.”
Maybe persons are blaming Musk and DOGE for unhealthy issues as a result of he promised that numerous unhealthy issues would occur on his watch. As only one instance, the billionaire gloated about “feeding USAID into the wooden chipper,” one thing that specialists consider has already led to probably hundreds of thousands of deaths world wide and can imply that tens of millions extra will die within the coming years. And feed it into the wooden chipper he did.
We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wooden chipper.
May gone to some nice events.
Did that as an alternative. https://t.co/0V35nacICW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
Musk is an unelected, unofficial member of President Donald Trump’s cupboard. And as a particular authorities worker, he doesn’t must fill out the identical monetary disclosure varieties that everybody else does, even when he’s nonetheless legally required to stick to battle of curiosity guidelines. However Musk has realized you could get away with so many issues when you don’t ask permission and easily insist that the courts attempt to cease you. And as a authorities contractor with SpaceX, the entry Musk has gained into proprietary data could be invaluable.
The brand new interview with the Submit reveals that Musk doesn’t sound terribly proud of the price range invoice handed by the U.S. Home of Representatives final week, which might, amongst different issues, minimize $800 million from Medicaid. However Musk isn’t displeased with the cuts—he’s sad that the invoice doesn’t codify the unlawful strikes he’s made to strip down the federal authorities.
“I used to be dissatisfied to see the huge spending invoice, frankly, which will increase the price range deficit, not simply decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE group is doing,” Musk mentioned, based on the Submit.
As CNBC reporter Carl Quintanilla famous Wednesday on Bluesky, the brand new article within the Submit doesn’t point out two of Musk’s most notorious occasions since Trump was inaugurated: the chainsaw-wielding on stage at CPAC in February and the 2 Nazi-style salutes on Jan. 20. Actually, Musk’s salutes didn’t get a lot mainstream TV information protection even on the time, leaving it to the web to unfold the phrase.
The billionaire made an analogous remark to CBS Sunday Morning about not liking the spending invoice in an interview that can air on Sunday. A brief video clip has been posted online, the place reporter David Pogue clearly empathized with Musk.
“I used to be, like, dissatisfied to see the huge spending invoice, frankly, which will increase the price range deficit, not lower it, and undermines the work that the DOGE group is doing,” Musk says within the clip.
“I truly thought that when this large stunning invoice got here alongside… I imply, like, every part he’s finished on DOGE will get worn out within the first yr,” Pogue replied.
“I feel a invoice will be large or it may be stunning, however I don’t know if it may be each,” Musk mentioned as each males laughed.
Pogue is the right PR-friendly man to be interviewing Musk, when you couldn’t already inform by how chummy the 2 males look collectively. The longtime tech reporter is identical man who did that softball 2022 interview with the CEO of Oceangate earlier than his Titan submersible imploded on a 2023 journey to the wreckage of the Titanic.
Musk is the CEO of Tesla, and other people have began to affiliate the vehicles his explicit model of fascism, giving rise to each peaceable protests and property destruction at Tesla dealerships. However, once more, Musk took the chance to whine to the Washington Submit about the way it was all so terribly unfair.
“Folks had been burning Teslas. Why would you do this? That’s actually uncool,” Musk reportedly mentioned. The billionaire has beforehand phrased it otherwise, insisting throughout an interview with Bloomberg News that, “I’m not somebody who’s ever dedicated violence.” However quickly sufficient, Musk pivoted in that very same interview into how he was going to hunt retribution towards the individuals who had wronged him.
Elon Musk incessantly performs the robust man in interviews. However as quickly as he feels sufficient warmth, the billionaire switches to Smol Bean Mode, speaking about how he’s by no means harmed anybody and is only a nice man making an attempt to make the world a greater place.
There’s something extremely perverse at play once you step again and give it some thought. Here’s a man who occurs to be the wealthiest particular person on the planet, and but needs to have it each methods. Musk longs to be seen as essentially the most {powerful} man you’ve ever seen, who’s celebrating cuts to the federal authorities which have pushed a whole bunch of 1000’s of individuals out of labor. However he additionally needs to be the true sufferer—the man who by no means will get a good shake as a result of persons are being too imply.
You possibly can’t have it each methods, Mr. Musk. However given fascism’s lengthy historical past of making an attempt to be each omnipotent protector and perpetually persecuted, we don’t anticipate you’ll drop the act anytime quickly.
