It’s not Musk’s fault, it’s Trump who allowed him to buy his presidency, then “according to the rules of payback” gave him the job, and pathetic congressional Republicans who support him, pretend it’s all just fine. Like harry Truman said “ the buck stops here “. Anything else is absolute bullsh:t
I agree with you that the buck stops on Trump's desk -- and with Congress. But I also hope Musk's actions are opening people's eyes to how incompetent he actually is. He needs to be taken down a few pegs; I'm tired of the weird adoration too many people have for him.
He inherited a lot of money and then made some successful purchases (e.g., Tesla) that vastly increased his portfolio. But he is not smart or savvy. He destroyed Twitter (I deadname it on purpose) and he is using the same tactics to dismantle the federal government.
Musk could have approached his DOGE duties with a thoughtful strategy and actually looked for opportunities to save money and promote efficiencies. Nope. A recent photo of him with a chainsaw says it all about the heavy-handed and self-promoting tactics he's implemented instead.
Now Tesla stock is plummeting (down more than 7% as I write this), Europeans are turning on him, and he is tanking Trump's valuable 100 days. And Trump isn't smart enough to pivot on this. Yes, it's Trump's fault. But Musk could have actually done some good and chose not to.
Gabe - Another theory of the Musk/Trump relationship - Trump's ego is fueled by now having the world's richest man 'wanting' to be by his side - Trump has wanted to be part of the wealthy people's club for many years. Trump is not keeping Musk around to "take negative attention" - it is to stroke Trump's ego. Musk will have to clearly break from Trump first, and break hard, before Trump ever considers severing his relationship with Musk.
Great column. It's worth remembering that Trump won by a much smaller margin than Biden and his victory cannot hardly be considered a mandate. He came close but did not even get a majority. So he was likely skating on somewhat thin ice and then Musk melted the ice and the swimming is now uphill.
Trump is doing a great job by making our government more efficient, yes there will be some disruption and people will face challenges finding new jobs. but nothing like the disruption caused when Seattle and Minneapolis burned. From time to time folks have to tweak their peronal budget, and become more efficient in their spending. The government needs to be more efficient as well. Thank God the new Green Deal has gone by the wayside. That gobbled up so much of our taxpayer money. The government has huge debt and deficits. That is why we have inflation! Gabe, I admire you and watched you since JBS, but I was led to believe your publication is non partisan. I am not seeing that.
Btw, where are your facts that Trump is making the govt more efficient. He is firing civil servants who know what they are doing, with zero of a plan, and making a mockery of our foreign policies, actually sucking up to Putin who is a murderous dictator and who should be executed for war crimes. Look what he did voting in the UN along with North Korea and Belarus instead of supporting Ukraine. He is a pathological liar and please do not tell me great business men go bankrupt multiple times. He is like Musk; daddy gives them a lot of dough and they use it without any moral guidance. The govt has huge debts partly because of Trump. He sent his baby boy to find more money so he can extend the tax cuts to his wealthy cronies.
TDS is a incurable disease. Who knew? The fight against the bureaucratic leviathan is the hill Dems have chosen to die on. Pretty sure most of those effected have never voted for Rs in the first place.
Of course Trump and Musk are unpopular at this point. Didn't Trump point out it was going to be difficult for many people before/after his entering office? The DOGE is starting from ground zero of all government departments to eliminate the fat that has grown deeper since before WWII. Where the hell have the thinking, reasoning, challenging people been since then. The WHO, WHAT, WHEN and HOW of reporting have slowly ebbed from the media because they don't ask/write about the WHY!!!
Before listing all the percentages of poll taking organizations, you might want to query what percent of the USA population they asked their question. Any percentage below 10-15% is
worthless. Remember the polls taken prior to November 2016???
Tuesday night, Trump and his GOP lackeys passed a budget that can only be described as economic arson. In a 217-215 vote, House Republicans took a sledgehammer to the social safety net, gutting essential programs while shoveling more gold onto the gilded altars of the ultra-wealthy.
Let’s be clear: this is class warfare. Medicaid? Slashed. Millions of poor, disabled, and elderly Americans now face a death sentence disguised as “fiscal responsibility.” SNAP, the food assistance program that keeps children from starving? Carved to the bone. Because nothing says “pro-family” like forcing single mothers to choose between rent and feeding their kids.
And where does that stolen money go? A $4.5 TRILLION tax giveaway to billionaires and corporations, because apparently, America’s richest parasites haven’t sucked enough blood yet. Meanwhile, the budget tosses another $300 billion into Trump's police-state fantasy—border militarization, surveillance, and bloated defense contracts. No money for healthcare, but plenty for barbed wire and jackboots.
This isn’t just a budget. It’s a manifesto of cruelty. It’s a declaration that in Trump’s America, the poor will get poorer, the hungry will starve, and the sick will die—all so the wealthy can hoard more wealth.
This is what Republican governance looks like: a boot on the neck of the working class while they pour champagne for their donors.
"(And that’s before taking into account the fact that some of the protesters might not even hail from the districts they were protesting in.)"
So they gleefully hyperventilate about "rampant" voting fraud and ID requirements, but can't afford to screen town hall meetings for good-faith participation?
President Biden? I wish . . . .
Me, too!!!!
It’s not Musk’s fault, it’s Trump who allowed him to buy his presidency, then “according to the rules of payback” gave him the job, and pathetic congressional Republicans who support him, pretend it’s all just fine. Like harry Truman said “ the buck stops here “. Anything else is absolute bullsh:t
I agree with you that the buck stops on Trump's desk -- and with Congress. But I also hope Musk's actions are opening people's eyes to how incompetent he actually is. He needs to be taken down a few pegs; I'm tired of the weird adoration too many people have for him.
He inherited a lot of money and then made some successful purchases (e.g., Tesla) that vastly increased his portfolio. But he is not smart or savvy. He destroyed Twitter (I deadname it on purpose) and he is using the same tactics to dismantle the federal government.
Musk could have approached his DOGE duties with a thoughtful strategy and actually looked for opportunities to save money and promote efficiencies. Nope. A recent photo of him with a chainsaw says it all about the heavy-handed and self-promoting tactics he's implemented instead.
Now Tesla stock is plummeting (down more than 7% as I write this), Europeans are turning on him, and he is tanking Trump's valuable 100 days. And Trump isn't smart enough to pivot on this. Yes, it's Trump's fault. But Musk could have actually done some good and chose not to.
The point is our president doesn’t care.
I agree but a president with a grasp on reality and a moral aptitude would have predicted this as so many have.
You wrote:
"The day ahead
All times Eastern.
President Biden will sign executive orders at 3 p.m."
Surely a typo. But, if only...
Gabe - Another theory of the Musk/Trump relationship - Trump's ego is fueled by now having the world's richest man 'wanting' to be by his side - Trump has wanted to be part of the wealthy people's club for many years. Trump is not keeping Musk around to "take negative attention" - it is to stroke Trump's ego. Musk will have to clearly break from Trump first, and break hard, before Trump ever considers severing his relationship with Musk.
Great column. It's worth remembering that Trump won by a much smaller margin than Biden and his victory cannot hardly be considered a mandate. He came close but did not even get a majority. So he was likely skating on somewhat thin ice and then Musk melted the ice and the swimming is now uphill.
President Biden? Probably a mistake. Hopefully this whole piece is not an AI hallucination 😁🫥
Trump and Musk living life in the fast lane.
Trump is doing a great job by making our government more efficient, yes there will be some disruption and people will face challenges finding new jobs. but nothing like the disruption caused when Seattle and Minneapolis burned. From time to time folks have to tweak their peronal budget, and become more efficient in their spending. The government needs to be more efficient as well. Thank God the new Green Deal has gone by the wayside. That gobbled up so much of our taxpayer money. The government has huge debt and deficits. That is why we have inflation! Gabe, I admire you and watched you since JBS, but I was led to believe your publication is non partisan. I am not seeing that.
What part of this piece do you see as partisan?
Most
Wow.
Btw, where are your facts that Trump is making the govt more efficient. He is firing civil servants who know what they are doing, with zero of a plan, and making a mockery of our foreign policies, actually sucking up to Putin who is a murderous dictator and who should be executed for war crimes. Look what he did voting in the UN along with North Korea and Belarus instead of supporting Ukraine. He is a pathological liar and please do not tell me great business men go bankrupt multiple times. He is like Musk; daddy gives them a lot of dough and they use it without any moral guidance. The govt has huge debts partly because of Trump. He sent his baby boy to find more money so he can extend the tax cuts to his wealthy cronies.
It’s very non partisan as both of us might have issues with his publication
TDS is a incurable disease. Who knew? The fight against the bureaucratic leviathan is the hill Dems have chosen to die on. Pretty sure most of those effected have never voted for Rs in the first place.
Of course Trump and Musk are unpopular at this point. Didn't Trump point out it was going to be difficult for many people before/after his entering office? The DOGE is starting from ground zero of all government departments to eliminate the fat that has grown deeper since before WWII. Where the hell have the thinking, reasoning, challenging people been since then. The WHO, WHAT, WHEN and HOW of reporting have slowly ebbed from the media because they don't ask/write about the WHY!!!
Before listing all the percentages of poll taking organizations, you might want to query what percent of the USA population they asked their question. Any percentage below 10-15% is
worthless. Remember the polls taken prior to November 2016???
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁—𝗔 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 💀
Tuesday night, Trump and his GOP lackeys passed a budget that can only be described as economic arson. In a 217-215 vote, House Republicans took a sledgehammer to the social safety net, gutting essential programs while shoveling more gold onto the gilded altars of the ultra-wealthy.
Let’s be clear: this is class warfare. Medicaid? Slashed. Millions of poor, disabled, and elderly Americans now face a death sentence disguised as “fiscal responsibility.” SNAP, the food assistance program that keeps children from starving? Carved to the bone. Because nothing says “pro-family” like forcing single mothers to choose between rent and feeding their kids.
And where does that stolen money go? A $4.5 TRILLION tax giveaway to billionaires and corporations, because apparently, America’s richest parasites haven’t sucked enough blood yet. Meanwhile, the budget tosses another $300 billion into Trump's police-state fantasy—border militarization, surveillance, and bloated defense contracts. No money for healthcare, but plenty for barbed wire and jackboots.
This isn’t just a budget. It’s a manifesto of cruelty. It’s a declaration that in Trump’s America, the poor will get poorer, the hungry will starve, and the sick will die—all so the wealthy can hoard more wealth.
This is what Republican governance looks like: a boot on the neck of the working class while they pour champagne for their donors.
https://substack.com/@patricemersault
"(And that’s before taking into account the fact that some of the protesters might not even hail from the districts they were protesting in.)"
So they gleefully hyperventilate about "rampant" voting fraud and ID requirements, but can't afford to screen town hall meetings for good-faith participation?
Shocker.
Biden? I don’t think so.
According to THIS poll, (538), Trumps approval rating is much higher than zero. Maybe I'm misreading your column? https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/favorability/donald-trump/
I believe what he means when he says zero is that it’s not + or - that like him. Aka 50/50
Good!