On Wednesday, Elon Musk declared a &#8220;tremendous amount&#8221; has been accomplished during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump&#8217;s second term, a message the tech guru delivered as he prepares to spend less time working on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
Musk — who has said he plans to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-significantly-cut-back-doge-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rededicate</a> himself to his electric car and energy company, Tesla, starting next month — trumpeted the Trump administration&#8217;s achievements during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
&#8220;The American people voted for secure borders, safe cities, and sensible spending, and that&#8217;s what they have gotten. A tremendous amount has been accomplished in the first 100 days,&#8221; Musk said, adding later, &#8220;This portends very well for what happens for the rest of the administration. I think this could be the greatest administration since the founding of the country.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a>: &quot;The people voted for secure borders, safe cities, and sensible spending and that&#39;s what they&#39;ve gotten. A tremendous amount has been accomplished in the first 100 days.&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;You have been treated unfairly but the vast majority of people in this country really… <a href="https://t.co/I6X1WINZew">pic.twitter.com/I6X1WINZew</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1917623036351488445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
After helping Trump get elected last year, Musk <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/13/upshot/musk-doge-1-trillion-goal.html">endeavored</a> to remove $1 trillion in waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal budget via the DOGE initiative. With cuts to programs and jobs across the bureaucracy, DOGE&#8217;s website now says &#8220;estimated savings&#8221; have <a href="https://doge.gov/savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached</a> $160 billion.
Musk&#8217;s involvement with DOGE sparked controversy. There have been protests at Tesla locations across the United States and abroad, as well as incidents that the FBI says have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-issues-warning-over-left-wing-terrorist-attacks-against-tesla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">involved</a> vandalism, arson, and gunfire, resulting in charges being filed against some alleged perpetrators.
During the Cabinet meeting, Trump said Musk &#8220;sacrificed a lot&#8221; and has been &#8220;treated very unfairly,&#8221; to which Musk quipped that people burning his cars is &#8220;not great.&#8221; The president also insisted that the &#8220;vast majority of people in this country really respect and appreciate you,&#8221; although recent polls show public support for Musk has <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/elon-musk-approval-low-reflecting-opposition-trump-cuts/story?id=121199149" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped</a> since the DOGE effort began.
Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-significantly-cut-back-doge-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> in a Tesla earnings call that he believed &#8220;starting probably in the next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly&#8221; while he planned to put more focus back on Tesla, which has just <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/22/tesla-tsla-earnings-report-q1-2025.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> a 71% net income drop in the first quarter, compared to one year ago.
Trump acknowledged that Musk wanted to &#8220;get back&#8221; to his cars, but he also told Musk, &#8220;You&#8217;re invited to stay as long as you want.&#8221; The president also said &#8220;a lot of stuff is being worked on&#8221; and contended that DOGE&#8217;s $160 billion savings figure &#8220;could be doubled and even tripled&#8221; as &#8220;a lot of things are being worked on that we don&#8217;t count because it&#8217;s not quite there.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>: &quot;Elon, I love the double hat by the way.&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a>: &quot;Well, Mr. President, you know they say I wear a lot of hats. Even my hat has a hat!&quot; <a href="https://t.co/iwlSpTDQVl">pic.twitter.com/iwlSpTDQVl</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1917622693215756416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A light-hearted moment took place when Trump first began speaking to Musk and took note of how the tech executive was wearing multiple hats on his head. The top hat was a red one that read, &#8220;GULF OF AMERICA.&#8221;
&#8220;Elon, I love the double hat, by the way,&#8221; Trump said. Laughter erupted in the room as Trump added that Musk was &#8220;the only one that can do that and get away with it.&#8221; Musk replied, &#8220;Well, Mr. President, you know they say I wear a lot of hats. That&#8217;s true. Even my hat has a hat!&#8221; More laughs ensued.

Elon Musk

Elon Salutes Trump’s First 100 Days: ‘Could Be The Greatest’ Ever

Cabinet

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Donald Trump

Executive

General

Politics

Elon Musk says he will soon reduce his time overseeing the Trump administration&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, a role that has taken a toll on his electric car and energy company, Tesla.
&#8220;The large slug of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place and working in the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done,&#8221; Musk said during a Tesla earnings call on Tuesday.
&#8220;And I think starting probably in the next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,&#8221; Musk continued, adding later, &#8220;I&#8217;ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla&#8230;&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Musk says he&#39;ll be cutting down time at DOGE starting in May to dedicate more time to Tesla but will spend a couple of days at DOGE a week for Trump&#39;s entire presidency.
&quot;The large amount of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place&#8230; is mostly done.&quot;
&quot;Starting… <a href="https://t.co/S6cy9kUB5m">pic.twitter.com/S6cy9kUB5m</a>
&mdash; Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1914800041354781078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk suggested that he will continue working in DOGE for the remainder of President Donald Trump&#8217;s term, &#8220;a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so.&#8221;
Tesla reported a 71% earnings drop over the past three months when <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/22/tesla-earnings-elon-musk-politics-stock/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compared</a> to the first quarter of last year. But the company&#8217;s stock rose approximately 5% in after-hours trading as Musk reassured investors.
&#8220;Musk just made a huge step forward on call. DOGE work basically ending (1-2 days a week)…now his focus back on Tesla. Street needed to hear this,&#8221; Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a <a href="https://x.com/DivesTech/status/1914797271855648909" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X.
As the U.S. national debt approaches $37 trillion, Musk endeavored to remove $1 trillion from the federal budget. DOGE&#8217;s website says &#8220;estimated savings&#8221; have <a href="https://doge.gov/savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached</a> $160 billion amid cuts to programs and jobs across the bureaucracy.
However, Musk&#8217;s involvement with DOGE has sparked controversy, including protests at Tesla locations across the United States and abroad, as well as incidents that the FBI says have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-issues-warning-over-left-wing-terrorist-attacks-against-tesla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">involved</a> vandalism, arson, and gunfire.
Musk said DOGE led to &#8220;some blowback,&#8221; but he stressed, &#8220;I think the work that we&#8217;re doing there is actually very important for trying to rein in the insane deficit that is leading our country, the United States, to destruction.&#8221;
DOGE has &#8220;made a lot of progress&#8221; addressing &#8220;waste and fraud,&#8221; Musk said. He also noted it is &#8220;natural&#8221; that those receiving &#8220;wasteful dollars and the fraudulent dollars&#8221; would try to &#8220;attack&#8221; him and those associated with him.

Elon To ‘Significantly’ Cut Back On DOGE Time

Tesla

U.S.

&#8220;The Office&#8221; star Rainn Wilson gave MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle some pushback during a recent interview, after she attempted to claim that public distrust in media could be traced directly back to President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Wilson actually posed the question, citing poll data and saying that some &#8220;40% of Americans don&#8217;t trust mainstream media.&#8221; He then pressed Ruhle to address that distrust and explain what she believed to be at the root of that problem.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨NEW: &quot;The Office&quot; Co-Star Rainn Wilson refutes MSNBC Host Stephanie Ruhle for blaming Trump and <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> for why faith in media has PLUNGED🚨
WILSON: &quot;I would push back: when I see this kind of insight and passion being directed at the current administration and the lack of… <a href="https://t.co/X9coaOMoGU">pic.twitter.com/X9coaOMoGU</a>
&mdash; Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonJournoDC/status/1914674413779243036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Why is that? How did we get here?&#8221; he asked.
&#8220;Listen, we are seeing a huge loss of trust in all of our institutions. It&#8217;s the media. It&#8217;s medicine. It&#8217;s banking. It&#8217;s a huge problem because when you think about democracy and all of these pillars, they need to stand tall, they need to stand strong,&#8221; Ruhle replied, pivoting to blame Trump almost immediately.
&#8220;And sort of losing that trust is not by accident, it&#8217;s by design,&#8221; she claimed. &#8220;If you remember when President Trump was running the first time, Steve Bannon once said, &#8216;The goal is to blow the whole thing up.&#8217; And so I think that you&#8217;ve got mistakes made or things starting to slip while at the same time there&#8217;s a concerted effort to destroy the media. Because the media — the news media — is, in my opinion, the last line of defense of holding power accountable.&#8221;
Ruhle went on to say that the &#8220;perfect storm&#8221; of Trump getting reelected and Musk drawing people away from traditional media had ultimately been what had brought about such high levels of distrust.
&#8220;This is where I would push back,&#8221; Wilson interrupted, adding, &#8220;When I see this kind of insight and passion being directed at the current administration and the lack of this kind of insight and passion being directed at the previous administration — where, again, I&#8217;m not talking about you, I&#8217;m talking about left-leaning news media organizations were kind of like, &#8216;La la la la, everything&#8217;s fine. Look, the environment&#8217;s — look, the economy is great, la la la, immigration’s not that much of a problem,&#8217; and really being Cleopatra, queen of denial. Thank you. Boom.&#8221;

Rainn Wilson

‘The Office’ Star Mocks Lefty Media For Digging Their Own Graves: ‘Cleopatra, Queen Of Denial’

Media

MSNBC

The Justice Department announced Friday that a 19-year-old male college student had been arrested for allegedly setting on fire two Cybertrucks using two homemade Molotov cocktails at a Tesla Center in Kansas City.
The suspect, Owen McIntire, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of malicious damage by fire of any property used in interstate commerce. Using surveillance footage and cell phone data, the FBI identified McIntire, who attends college in Boston, as the man who committed the arson.
“Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.”
On March 17, a police officer <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1397151/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed</a> smoke near the KC Tesla Showroom and found smoke coming from a Cybertruck. The officer put out the fire outside of the vehicle, but was unable to stop the burning of the Cybertruck, which also spread to another vehicle. Both vehicles were worth over $100,000.
Surveillance footage from nearby residences showed a suspect near the scene of the crime &#8220;wearing dark flowy clothing and a large, white-colored hat&#8221; believed by investigators to be McIntire, according to an affidavit provided to show probable cause. The FBI eventually matched the car seen near the scene, surveillance footage, and witness testimony to McIntire.
McIntrire is alleged to have carried out the attack while home on spring break from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Tesla facilities and vehicles across the country have been targeted with vandalism and arson as part of backlash to Elon Musk&#8217;s involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency. The Justice Department is treating the attacks as instances of domestic terrorism.
“This is the second arrest this week of a suspect charged with targeting Tesla, more proof that the FBI will not stand for these destructive acts,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “These actions are dangerous, they are illegal, and we are going to arrest those responsible.&#8221;
On Monday, the DOJ <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/domestic-terrorism-fbi-arrests-man-for-firebombing-new-mexico-tesla-showroom-gop-headquarters?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘Domestic+Terrorism’%3A+FBI+Arrests+Man+For+Firebombing+New+Mexico+Tesla+Showroom%2C+GOP+Headquarters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the arrest of 40-year-old Jamison Wagner over arson attacks that targeted the headquarters of the Republican Party and a Tesla showroom in New Mexico. Wagner could face 40 years in prison if convicted.
The attack Wagner is accused of orchestrating did significant damage to the GOP headquarters in Albuquerque and burned out two Teslas.

MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-03-48-PM-2757

‘You Will Spend Decades Behind Bars’: FBI Arrests College Student Over Tesla Arson Attack

Crime

Department of Justice

domestic terrorism

Kansas City

kash patel

Pam Bondi

Former President Joe Biden broke his three-month silence Tuesday evening, addressing Social Security in his first public speech since President Trump took office.
Biden <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jcqOgFBM7Q">addressed</a> a gathering of advocates for disabled people in Chicago, accusing Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency of trying to “dismantle” Social Security.
Biden, already 30 minutes late, was off to a rough start as the former president appeared to begin <a href="https://x.com/theblaze/status/1912269480887017978">reading</a> off the teleprompter while the walkout music was still playing, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was inaudible to the audience.
The former president began the speech with a bizarre boast about his bona fides as a pro-civil rights senator, rambling, “I remember pulling in, pulling into the parking lot. And I had never seen, I had never seen hardly any black people in Scranton at the time. And I was only going in fourth grade. And I remember seeing the kids going by at the time, colored kids on a bus going by.”
“They never turned right to go to Claremont High School. I wondered why. I asked my mom, ‘Why?’ ‘So in Delaware, I&#8217;m not allowed to go to school, public school with white kids, honey.’ That sparked my sense of outrage as a kid, just like it does [sic].”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
President Biden randomly starts screaming in his first speech since leaving office. He tells a story about seeing black kids on buses:
&quot;I remember watching a bus go by. It was full of colored kids…I had never seen those.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/LdcpiLKSXV">pic.twitter.com/LdcpiLKSXV</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1912279115111247946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Transitioning back to the teleprompter, Biden launched into an assault on Trump’s pullback of the bureaucracy, listing off a number of “achievements” under his administration that the current president is supposedly destroying.
“In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has [caused] so much damage and so much destruction. It&#8217;s kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon. They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration.”
In a bizarre claim, Biden said, “We strengthened the anti-fraud measures to protect people&#8217;s identities and to make sure benefits are going to people who actually they belong to. By the way, those 300-year-old folks getting that Social Security, I want to meet them because I like to figure out how to live that.”
This is despite Elon Musk’s DOGE uncovering countless cases of fraud and abuse since Biden’s departure.
Throughout the speech, Biden frequently shifted from either a barely audible whisper or practically shouting at the audience, mirroring many speeches from the end of his presidency.
Fox News had to briefly cut Biden’s speech short to fact-check a multitude of false statements, with Brett Baier cutting the president during his remarks.
“President Biden in Chicago talking about Social Security there, saying the administration has ‘dismantled’ Social Security. They have fired and gotten rid of a number of employees, but in that interview with ElonMusk and his DOGE team, they said they&#8217;re going after waste, fraud, and abuse in Social Security.”
“And also President Trump has said that he will not touch benefits. In fact, Elon Musk is pledging that benefits will be protected more by what they&#8217;re doing.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Fox News cuts away from Joe Biden’s speech for a fact check on his Social Security claims from <a href="https://twitter.com/BretBaier?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BretBaier</a>:
“President Biden in Chicago talking about Social Security there, saying the administration has ‘dismantled’ Social Security. They have fired and gotten rid of a… <a href="https://t.co/SWcbksxEwC">pic.twitter.com/SWcbksxEwC</a>
&mdash; TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TVNewsNow/status/1912277205607923767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk did raise eyebrows several weeks ago during an appearance on the &#8220;Joe Rogan Experience&#8221; podcast when he called Social Security &#8220;the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,&#8221; arguing that the amount being paid into the system is dwarfed by future obligations.
Trump addressed the program during his March speech to Congress, citing &#8220;shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors and that our seniors and people that we love rely on.&#8221;
The Social Security Administration has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/15/biden-social-security-speech-trump/">lost</a> 7,000 employees under the streamlining efforts of Trump and Musk, with thousands more cuts planned.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/VigilantFox/status/1912251020648018017">joked</a> about Biden’s appearance at a Monday conference. “My first reaction when seeing former President Biden was speaking tonight was — I’m shocked he is speaking at nighttime,” she said. “I thought his bedtime was much earlier than his speech tonight.”

Former President Biden Speaks at ACRD Conference in Chicago

Late, Rambling, And Off-Key: Biden Stumbles Through First Post-Trump Speech

Joe Biden

Social Security

Trump Administration

A 40-year-old New Mexico man has been charged over arson attacks that targeted the headquarters of the Republican Party and a Tesla showroom in Albuquerque, the Justice Department announced.
The DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/albuquerque-man-charged-connection-arson-attacks-tesla-dealership-and-republican-party-new">said</a> Monday that 40-year-old Jamison Wagner had been arrested by the FBI over the attacks, which burned out two Teslas and left significant damage to the GOP headquarters in Albuquerque. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the DOJ would be seeking 40 years in prison for Wagner if he is convicted.
Wagner was charged with two counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosive.
“Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence,” Bondi said. “We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate. Crimes have consequences.”
The DOJ said that it had identified Wagner through evidence left at the scene of the attacks and surveillance footage.
The first attack took place on February 9 when two Tesla vehicles outside the Tesla Albuquerque Showroom were targeted with a homemade incendiary device. Inside one of the vehicles was found a glass container with napalm material. Other vehicles and the outside of the showroom were spray-painted with swastikas and the words “Die Elon,” “Tesla Nazi Inc,” and “Die Tesla Nazi.”
<div id="attachment_907537" style="width: 1400px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-907537" class="size-full wp-image-907537" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.38-PM.png" alt="" width="1390" height="751" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.38-PM.png 1390w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.38-PM-300x162.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.38-PM-1024x553.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.38-PM-768x415.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1390px) 100vw, 1390px" />Credit: DOJ.</div>
The next attack took place on March 30, when the headquarters for the New Mexico GOP were firebombed, leaving significant damage. The phrase “ICE = KKK” was spray-painted on the building as well.
<div id="attachment_907539" style="width: 1409px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-907539" class="size-full wp-image-907539" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.16-PM.png" alt="" width="1399" height="965" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.16-PM.png 1399w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.16-PM-300x207.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.16-PM-835x576.png 835w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-14-at-2.52.16-PM-768x530.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1399px) 100vw, 1399px" />GOP headquarters: DOJ.</div>
Investigators said they linked Wagner to the attacks by matching his Hyundai Accent to one leaving the scene of the GOP headquarters after the bombing and matching his physical appearance to surveillance footage of the suspect.
The FBI also said it found materials for making incendiary devices at his home, spray paint matching the vandalism at both crime scenes, an “ICE=KKK” stencil matching what was spray-painted at the GOP headquarters, and at least eight suspected incendiary devices.
“This arrest is part of the FBI’s aggressive efforts to investigate and hold accountable those who have targeted Tesla facilities in various states across the country,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, we will continue to locate and arrest those responsible for these acts of domestic terrorism, and the FBI will work with partners at the Department of Justice to ensure such lawbreakers face justice.”

MixCollage-14-Apr-2025-02-54-PM-4419

‘Domestic Terrorism’: FBI Arrests Man For Firebombing New Mexico Tesla Showroom, GOP Headquarters

Albuquerque

Arson

New Mexico

Republican Party

Normally when a major new law is proposed, it&#8217;s given a name that makes it catchy and appealing to as many people as possible. Of course, pretty much every time, the name is an obvious lie. But it&#8217;s still an effective lie, because every time someone says the name of the law, they&#8217;re giving you a positive soundbite. Obama&#8217;s health care plan, of course, was famously called &#8220;The Affordable Care Act.&#8221; So all of the news articles and cable news segments that talked about the law — even if they were critical of it — ended up reinforcing the message that it would make health care &#8220;affordable.&#8221; The same principle applies to the so-called &#8220;Equal Pay Act,&#8221; the &#8220;Freedom of Information Act,&#8221; the &#8220;Fair Housing Act,&#8221; and so on.
With that in mind, it&#8217;s worth taking a look at the name of a new ballot initiative that was <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/25-0002%20%28Health%20Care%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> last week in the state of California. This ballot initiative was proposed by a retired lawyer in the state. And it would prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for medication or procedures, unless those insurance companies could demonstrate — by &#8220;clear and convincing evidence&#8221; — that the medication or procedure is completely unnecessary in every way. In other words, they can&#8217;t reject a procedure because it&#8217;s too expensive. If they do, they&#8217;ll face a lawsuit that will almost certainly be successful. In practical terms, this would mean that the cost of health insurance (and medical procedures) would skyrocket. It would have the exact opposite of its intended effect. Insurance companies would probably go bankrupt very quickly, and a lot of people would lose access to health care entirely as a result. So calling this &#8220;bad policy&#8221; would be an understatement.
But that&#8217;s not the point. The point is the name of this ballot initiative. It&#8217;s not called the &#8220;Better Health Care Insurance Act.&#8221; It&#8217;s not called the &#8220;Save Lives Act&#8221; or the &#8220;Free Money Act&#8221; or anything like that. Instead, this ballot initiative is called the &#8220;Luigi Mangione Access to Healthcare Act.&#8221; Yes, a law has just been proposed in the state of California that&#8217;s named after someone who just (allegedly) shot a health care CEO in the back, on camera, after stalking him for weeks. And as much as I&#8217;d like to say that most people in this country have rejected this legislation, that&#8217;s not true. It&#8217;s actually getting a lot of support and mainstream attention at the moment. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="&#039;Luigi Mangione Act&#039; would penalize insurance companies, draws ire | NewsNation Now" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NS45gHNjfa8?start=33&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So evidently, it&#8217;s not enough for the ballot initiative to be named after an alleged murderer. On top of that, the text of the ballot initiative also references the words that the assassin wrote on the bullets that he used to murder Brian Thompson. This is about as sociopathic as things can possibly get. But it&#8217;s got a fighting chance to pass in California. Already many <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1jnl1rm/california_ballot_measure_named_after_luigi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">people</a> are supporting the proposal on social media, as you can probably imagine. They&#8217;re particularly fond of the idea on Reddit, which has become a breeding ground for domestic terrorists of late. And the state of California is well-known for passing ballot initiatives like this one.
Reason Magazine <a href="https://reason.com/2025/03/31/the-best-thing-about-the-proposed-california-initiative-named-after-luigi-mangione-is-the-title/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> that: &#8220;California has a history of gadflies getting far-reaching policies on the ballot that then end up winning. Liberal California likes to point to Proposition 13, which limited property tax increases, as the canonical example of this. Another example would be Proposition 103, an initiative pushed by consumer advocates that created California&#8217;s current regulatory regime for property and auto insurance. Prop. 103 limits insurers&#8217; ability to raise rates on policyholders and creates a laborious system to justify whatever price increases they are still permitted.&#8221;
And there&#8217;s another reason to think that this initiative will pass. This is a poll that was just conducted by the &#8220;Network Contagion Research Institute,&#8221; which just surveyed Americans across the political spectrum in order to determine their level of tolerance for political violence. <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/bombshell-study-reveals-assassination-culture-080006498.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From Fox</a>, which reported on the results: &#8220;38% of respondents said it would be at least &#8216;somewhat justified&#8217; to murder Donald Trump, and 31% said the same about Elon Musk. &#8230; When counting only left-leaning respondents, justification for killing Trump rose to 55% and Musk to 48%.&#8221;
Yes, more than half of &#8220;left-leaning respondents&#8221; — which includes anyone who identifies as a liberal in any way — believes that it would be acceptable for an assassin to execute Donald Trump. And nearly half of &#8220;left-leaning respondents&#8221; believe it would be acceptable if someone murdered Elon Musk. On top of that, nearly 60% of &#8220;left-leaning respondents&#8221; declared that it would be acceptable to destroy a Tesla dealership. They&#8217;re saying it&#8217;s fine to commit acts of domestic terrorism, solely because they disagree with the political views of the CEO of the company.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mws-ep-1572-member-exclusive?row=2&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel&amp;rowHeadline=The+Matt+Walsh+Show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h3>
Yes, polls can be misleading. We talk about the bias that exists in polls all the time. They&#8217;re not necessarily a reliable indicator but in this case, based on everything that&#8217;s happened in this country in the last few years, everyone knows this poll is accurate. We&#8217;ve all seen the outpouring of support for Luigi Mangione — support that continued even after it became very clear that he&#8217;s a raging, wealthy narcissist who had no reason to be upset with United HealthCare whatsoever. In fact, a few months ago, many of Luigi Mangione&#8217; supporters dogpiled one of my videos on YouTube, in order to inform me that I should &#8220;read the room&#8221; and defend first-degree murder.
We&#8217;ve also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXtWVnpnx4U" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played</a> dozens of clips of random Tesla stores and vehicles being attacked, as mobs cheer on the carnage. People are being terrorized solely on the basis of a vehicle they&#8217;ve purchased — which as far as I can tell, has never happened before in the history of this country. At the height of the Bud Light boycott, no one was violently assaulted for drinking a Bud Light. But for Tesla owners, it&#8217;s a different story. And these attacks are continuing, by the way. Just yesterday, shortly after midnight in Washington State, an explosion <a href="https://www.carscoops.com/2025/04/explosion-rips-through-tesla-supercharger-triggering-fbi-response/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">destroyed</a> a Tesla charging station.
Along the same lines, as we <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ7Lue_aa0I" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussed</a> earlier this week, there&#8217;s been a groundswell of support for Karmelo Anthony, who recently stabbed a white high school student to death in Texas at a track meet. Anthony&#8217;s family has now raised more than $250,000 — a quarter of a million dollars — on GiveSendGo, on the theory that the killing was somehow an act of self-defense — even though Karmelo Anthony himself asked officers, as they arrested him, whether self-defense was a viable strategy to pursue. At this rate, he&#8217;ll raise a million dollars for killing a white 17-year-old. Yes, there&#8217;s essentially a bounty for killing white people in this country. Does it matter to these people that Austin Metcalf didn&#8217;t hurt Karmelo Anthony in any way? Does it matter to them that Karmelo Anthony instigated the fight and then threw away the murder weapon as Austin Metcalf died in his brother&#8217;s arms? Does it matter that Karmelo Anthony brought a deadly weapon to the opposing team&#8217;s tent at a track meet, and then dared someone to touch him? Of course not. None of that matters. All that matters is that Austin Metcalf was white and Karmelo Anthony was black.
<div id="attachment_903441" style="width: 966px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-903441" class="size-large wp-image-903441" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-at-9.43.51-AM-956x576.png" alt="" width="956" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-at-9.43.51-AM-956x576.png 956w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-at-9.43.51-AM-300x181.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-at-9.43.51-AM-768x463.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-at-9.43.51-AM.png 1168w" sizes="(max-width: 956px) 100vw, 956px" />Frisco Police Dept//Metcalf family handout</div>
So no, it&#8217;s not surprising in the slightest that most self-described liberals in this country are explicitly supporting political violence. We see the evidence everywhere. But at the same time, the diagnosis from the political science experts is obviously lacking in several respects. They aren&#8217;t fully grasping the problem. To give you some idea, here&#8217;s what they have to say.
This is <a href="https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/new-survey-reveals-disturbing-trend-in-support-of-political-violence-president-trump-left-of-center-elon-musk-liberal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from CBS</a>: &#8220;Stanley Schwartz, a history professor at Cedarville University, tells us, violence has a long history in American democracy, but it was still striking to read through this report. &#8230; &#8216;A lot of folks on the left are probably feeling a sense of hopelessness or despair following the election loss,&#8217; said Schwartz. &#8230; [Another expert], Darryl Paulson, who specializes in political parties and elections at the University of South Florida, tells us, there used to be rules in how you conducted politics. But those rules don&#8217;t exist anymore. &#8216;Those rules of the game have been thrown out, and it&#8217;s every man for himself,&#8217; Paulson said.&#8221;
That&#8217;s the explanation that the academics have come up with. They&#8217;re saying that something has abruptly changed, and that &#8220;a lot of folks&#8221; are mad that a Republican won the presidency. But that doesn&#8217;t actually capture the magnitude of what&#8217;s happening here. So-called “assassination culture” — as these pollsters have referred to this phenomenon — is not merely the result of hyper partisanship and political division. We&#8217;ve had a lot of very intense political disagreements in this country&#8217;s history, including all-out brawls on the floor of Congress in the 19th century. What we haven&#8217;t seen, until now, are coordinated terror campaigns — endorsed by a major political party — that are conducted against American citizens on the basis of their political beliefs. That is new.
When the Weather Underground bombed The Capitol, both Democrats and Republicans had the good sense to condemn it. But when the modern Weather Underground gets to work against Elon Musk and his supporters, Democrats say nothing. Actually, it&#8217;s worse than that. They come out and publicly taunt Elon Musk and his company, and they suggest he and Tesla got what they deserved.
We&#8217;re seeing this response because, at its core, Leftism is relativistic, fundamentally amoral, and dehumanizing. Leftism has taken over the Democratic Party, and we&#8217;re now witnessing the consequences of that takeover. That is why Leftists are celebrating the murder of Brian Thompson, without any pushback from elected Democrats. That&#8217;s why they&#8217;re happy Austin Metcalf is dead, and it&#8217;s why they&#8217;re now desperately hoping that they&#8217;ll get to kill Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Above all else, Leftism is concerned with advancing the interests of the party. That is their overriding goal. It&#8217;s all that interests them. Nothing else matters. They will continue their campaign of violence, at any cost. They don&#8217;t even feel the need to hide it anymore, as the &#8220;Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act&#8221; demonstrates. The same people who cheered the killing of Brian Thompson would cheer your death as well, if they felt it would advance their interests in any way.
Countries can survive economic upheaval, political disagreements and even civil war. But they cannot survive an ideology that is fundamentally anti-human — that&#8217;s completely uninterested in any form of human progress. That is what Leftism, as endorsed by the Democratic Party, now stands for. A majority of Democrats agree with this sentiment. It&#8217;s impossible to overstate this, so I&#8217;ll say it again: They will rationalize your murder if you don&#8217;t agree with them. They will rationalize your murder, as we&#8217;ve seen with Austin Metcalf, if you&#8217;re white. It is incumbent on every sane person — anyone with any survival instinct whatsoever — to stay as far away from these people as possible. And if we accomplish nothing else in the next few years, we should do everything we can to eradicate this ideology so that it doesn&#8217;t result in any more death and destruction than it already has. Leftism arrived in this country relatively quickly. If there&#8217;s one silver lining here, it&#8217;s that we can eliminate it just as quickly.

Luigi Mangione

The Rise Of ‘Assassination Culture’ In America

The Rise Of 'Assassination Culture' In America

assassination

California

Democrats

Health Care

Leftists

Matt Walsh

Murder

Opinion

President Trump

President Trump&#8217;s NASA administrator nominee, Jared Isaacman, vowed at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday that America would dominate the new space race with China, with the agency focusing on simultaneous moon and Mars missions without requiring budget increases.
Isaacman <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/senate-commerce-committee-considers-nasa-and-fcc-nominations/658331">testified</a> in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, &amp; Transportation, and when asked by committee chair Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) about the practicality of simultaneous moon and Mars missions, he didn’t flinch.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think we have to make any tough trades here, Senator. I think if we can concentrate our resources at the world&#8217;s greatest space agency, we don&#8217;t have to make a binary decision of moon versus Mars or moon has to come first versus Mars,&#8221; Isaacman told the Senate Commerce Committee in response to questioning about NASA&#8217;s priorities.
&#8220;I think we can do the moon and Mars and beyond,&#8221; Isaacman said in response to similar questioning by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
The 42-year-old entrepreneur and astronaut delivered a stark warning about the growing competition with China in space, declaring that &#8220;space is the ultimate high ground. We cannot afford to cede that ground.&#8221;
When Senator Cruz displayed a poster depicting Chinese astronauts potentially beating Americans to the lunar surface, Isaacman confidently remarked, &#8220;Senator, I only see the left-hand portion of that poster,&#8221; referring to the part of the image showing American astronauts reaching the moon first.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“Senator, I only see the left hand side of that poster” &#8211; absolute mic drop moment from <a href="https://twitter.com/rookisaacman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rookisaacman</a> at his confirmation hearing today to be the next <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA</a> Administrator! <a href="https://t.co/ylKYIuNBHX">pic.twitter.com/ylKYIuNBHX</a>
&mdash; Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) <a href="https://twitter.com/Erdayastronaut/status/1909989209349255474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If confirmed, Isaacman would bring significant private sector and spaceflight experience to NASA, having commanded and even personally funded multiple space missions, including Polaris Dawn in 2024, which featured the first commercial spacewalk by a civilian astronaut.
When pressed by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) on whether the space agency could simultaneously pursue multiple ambitious goals given possible DOGE budget cuts, Isaacman insisted that NASA &#8220;was built to do the near impossible&#8221; and reminded Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) that NASA already has “a pretty extraordinary budget … it&#8217;s close to every federal law enforcement agency combined times two.”
Isaacman faced multiple questions about his relationship with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has been a key ally to the Trump administration. &#8220;my loyalty is to this nation, the space agency, and their world-changing mission,&#8221; Isaacman stated unequivocally in response to the Michigan Senator&#8217;s inquiry, &#8220;NASA is the customer. [SpaceX/Contractors] work for us, not the other way around.&#8221;
The nominee outlined an ambitious vision for America&#8217;s space agency beyond just moon and Mars missions, with his priorities including making NASA financially self-sustaining, investing in nuclear propulsion technology, recruiting top scientific talent, using social media to inspire young Americans about space exploration, and expanding deep space science missions with more probes, rovers, and telescopes.
The renewed focus on space exploration comes as China has rapidly <a href="https://www.space.com/china-moon-base-south-pole-2035">advanced</a> its own ambitions, recently announcing plans to establish a permanent lunar base by 2035. Beijing&#8217;s space program has seen unprecedented growth over the past decade, with successful missions to the far side of the moon and the deployment of its own space station. National security experts have increasingly warned that allowing China to establish dominance in space could threaten American technological superiority and military capabilities.
Isaacman, who founded payment processing company Shift4 Payments and has personally flown to space as commander of the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission, outlined specific strategies to make NASA financially self-sustaining. He emphasized the need to &#8220;unlock the true economic potential of space&#8221; by developing stronger partnerships between the agency, academic institutions, and private industry.
Isaacman concluded his testimony by reiterating his commitment to American leadership in space. &#8220;We will do this not just to expand our knowledge or strengthen our national security, but to improve all life on Earth and inspire the next generation to reach even further,&#8221; he said.
Trump announced Isaacman’s nomination in December 2024: “Over the past 25 years, as the Founder and CEO of Shift4, Jared has demonstrated exceptional leadership, building a trailblazing global financial technology company. He also co-founded and served as CEO of Draken International, a defense aerospace company, for over a decade, supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and our Allies.&#8221;
“Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113595378122687080">said</a> on Truth Social.

Jared Isaacman Testifies In His Senate Nomination Hearing To Be NASA Administrator

‘Moon, Mars, And Beyond’: Trump’s NASA Pick Promises American Dominance In New Space Race

NASA

Senate

Space

SpaceX

Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) warned Democrats during a recent speech against &#8220;demonizing&#8221; people simply because they have built businesses and earned some measure of success — but he gave them a free pass to go ahead and &#8220;demonize&#8221; billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Walz, who spent time during the 2024 presidential campaign criticizing current Vice President JD Vance&#8217;s humble upbringing, made the comments during a town hall in Youngstown, Ohio.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨TIM WALZ: We should &quot;DEMONIZE&quot; people like Elon Musk!
He calls Elon a &quot;greedy bastard&quot; who doesn&#39;t pay taxes. <a href="https://t.co/PNbzz5aDym">pic.twitter.com/PNbzz5aDym</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1910008450626502918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I think Democrats, supporting families, supporting the working class, supporting unions — but I think we have to separate and have a message here: It’s okay in America to be successful, we should celebrate that when people are successful,&#8221; Walz said. &#8220;My beef is — what my beef is, once you get successful, don’t be a greedy bastard and not pay your taxes, don&#8217;t do that.&#8221;
&#8220;Let those young men who see this — now, I would argue this: we&#8217;re creating a false narrative from them that everybody is super-rich and has Lamborghinis and life is easy, but that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re going to have to figure out in our society about social media and all those things,&#8221; he continued.
&#8220;But I don&#8217;t think that we should be the party that demonizes someone because they&#8217;re able to afford something or they&#8217;re able to work hard and got something,&#8221; Walz added. &#8220;What we should demonize is people like Elon Musk and those people that do that &#8230; that&#8217;s different. That&#8217;s different.&#8221;
Walz&#8217;s comments come amid weeks of physical and sometimes violent attacks — both on individually owned Teslas and on Tesla dealerships — aimed at Musk over his involvement with President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
And Walz, who lost his own bid for the vice-presidency last November, is not the only high-ranking Democrat who refused to denounce the recent violence. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, when confronted over the attacks on Teslas, would not condemn them.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t talk about Tesla, but Elon Musk is a disaster for America,&#8221; Schumer <a href="https://x.com/WesternLensman/status/1909812151973192082" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.

Gov. Tim Walz

Tim Walz: Democrats Shouldn’t ‘Demonize’ Successful People — Unless They’re Elon Musk

Tim Walz: Democrats Shouldn't 'Demonize' Successful People — Unless They're Elon Musk

Chuck Schumer

DOGE

JD Vance

Tim Walz

Two top Trump allies are trading barbs over the administration’s approach to international trade.
Tech mogul Elon Musk and Peter Navarro, the president’s senior counselor on trade, have openly feuded with each other over the future of U.S. trade policy. Musk has pushed for low tariffs to encourage international trade, whereas Navarro has argued that high trade barriers are needed to protect domestic industry.
The disagreement grew personal, with Navarro saying Musk is influenced by business interests and Musk calling the trade counselor a “moron.”
“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk posted on X on Tuesday morning in response to Navarro’s contention that Musk’s trade policies are influenced by Tesla’s business needs, Musk’s electric car company.
“Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks,” Musk posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks. <a href="https://twitter.com/IfindRetards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IfindRetards</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RealPNavarro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealPNavarro</a> <a href="https://t.co/gECgtZt5Sc">https://t.co/gECgtZt5Sc</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1909605316121198860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk’s harsh posts came in response to comments Navarro made Monday.
“When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House – and the American people understand – that Elon&#8217;s a car manufacturer. But he&#8217;s not a car manufacturer, he&#8217;s a car assembler in many cases,” Navarro said. “If you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines that he gets, which in the EV case [are] the batteries, come from Japan and come from China. The electronics come from Taiwan.”
“What we want — and the difference is in our thinking and Elon&#8217;s on this — is that we want the tires made in Akron. We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw. And we want the cars manufactured here,” the trade counselor continued. “With Elon, it’s fine, he’s a car person, that’s what he does. And he wants the cheap foreign parts, and we understand that.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
PETER NAVARRO ON ELON MUSK:
“We all understand in the White House (and the American people understand) that Elon&#39;s a car manufacturer. But he&#39;s not a car manufacturer — He&#39;s a car assembler. 
In many cases, if you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines that he gets… <a href="https://t.co/mkp1wRGcvX">pic.twitter.com/mkp1wRGcvX</a>
&mdash; Ron Pragides  (@mrp) <a href="https://twitter.com/mrp/status/1909414607741243710?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk on Monday shared a video of the free-market economist Milton Friedman explaining how international trade has led to more affordable products – in Friedman’s example, a pencil.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/azqwPMa0om">pic.twitter.com/azqwPMa0om</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1909169096391811304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The feud started after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against dozens of countries last week, including close American allies and nations with relatively low tariff barriers against the United States, such as Israel and South Korea. The announcement presaged days of chaos in stock trading, but markets began to steady after the White House signaled it was willing to negotiate with countries to lower or avoid the tariffs announced last week.

Elon Musk, Peter Navarro

‘Truly A Moron’: Top Trump Allies Elon Musk, Peter Navarro Trade Shots On Tariffs

Economy

Peter Navarro

Tariffs

White House

Over the weekend and continuing Monday morning, billionaire Elon Musk has taken an apparent position against President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy that have caused chaos the economic markets.
In posts on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk has been critical of the Trump advisors that crafted the tariff strategy. In response to a video of Peter Navarro defending the tariff strategy on CNN, Musk blasted him on X, saying, “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing. Results in the ego/brains&gt;&gt;1 problem.” Navarro, of course, got his degree from Harvard.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
One of my favorite Thomas Sowell quotes: <a href="https://t.co/wXByh67UXo">pic.twitter.com/wXByh67UXo</a>
&mdash; Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chesschick01/status/1908393502620172733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Navarro has hit back against Musk, saying he &#8220;doesn&#8217;t understand&#8221; the issue, and opposes the strategy due to his own interests.
&#8220;The thing that&#8217;s I think important about Elon to understand, he sells cars. That&#8217;s what he does,&#8221; Navarro said. &#8220;He&#8217;s simply protecting his own interests, as any businessperson would do.&#8221;
Musk also mocked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick justifying the tariffs imposed on the penguin-inhabited Heard and McDonald Islands, saying simply, “This is funny.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is funny 🤣
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1908897714139717828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk<a href="https://www.mediaite.com/news/elon-musk-distances-from-tariffs-openly-torches-trump-officials-with-billionaire-grade-shade-this-is-funny/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> stated</a> on Saturday, “Ideally, both Europe and the United States should move to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America. If people wish to work in Europe or wish to work in North America, they should be allowed to do so in my view.”
On Monday, Musk retweeted a video of famed economist Milton Friedman, who was staunchly anti-tariff, offering a paean to free trade, as Freidman famously said:
<blockquote>
Look at this lead pencil. There’s not a single person in the world who could make this pencil. Remarkable statement? Not at all. The wood from which it is made, for all I know, comes from a tree that was cut down in the state of Washington. To cut down that tree, it took a saw. To make the saw, it took steel. To make the steel, it took iron ore. This black center—we call it lead but it’s really graphite, compressed graphite—I’m not sure where it comes from, but I think it comes from some mines in South America. This red top up here, the eraser, a bit of rubber, probably comes from Malaya, where the rubber tree isn’t even native! It was imported from South America by some businessmen with the help of the British government. This brass ferrule? I haven’t the slightest idea where it came from. Or the yellow paint! Or the paint that made the black lines. Or the glue that holds it together. 
Literally thousands of people co-operated to make this pencil. People who don’t speak the same language, who practice different religions, who might hate one another if they ever met! When you go down to the store and buy this pencil, you are in effect trading a few minutes of your time for a few seconds of the time of all those thousands of people. What brought them together and induced them to cooperate to make this pencil? There was no commissar sending … out orders from some central office. It was the magic of the price system: the impersonal operation of prices that brought them together and got them to cooperate, to make this pencil, so you could have it for a trifling sum.
That is why the operation of the free market is so essential. Not only to promote productive efficiency, but even more to foster harmony and peace among the peoples of the world.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/azqwPMa0om">pic.twitter.com/azqwPMa0om</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1909169096391811304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Friedman <a href="https://www.k-state.edu/landon/speakers/milton-friedman/transcript.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a> in 1978 in another anti-tariff lecture:
<blockquote>
We call a tariff a protective measure. It does protect; it protects the consumer very well against one thing. It protects the consumer against low prices. . . . 
[W]hen people talk about a favorable balance of trade, what is that term taken to mean? It’s taken to mean that we export more than we import. But from the point of view of our well-being that’s an unfavorable balance. That means we are sending out more goods and getting fewer in. Each of you in your private household would know better than that. You don’t regard it as a favorable balance when you have to send out more goods to get less coming in. . . .
Each of us tends to produce a single product. We tend to buy a thousand and one products. If we impose a tariff on steel, or restrict imports of steel in other ways, the people who benefit are visible and clear and available and apparent. They have a very strong interest to press for restraints in that respect. The interests of the rest of us are very diffuse. Each of us will pay a few pennies more. We don&#8217;t have the same interest to oppose it. &#8230;
The tendency to concentrate on the productive side of our lives and to neglect the side of consumption is reinforced by the fact that even for the productive side of our lives the visible effects of tariffs are good, the invisible effects of tariffs are bad, even on the productive side. I have already referred to the steel case. It&#8217;s perfectly clear that if you restrict the imports of steel, there are some workers in the steel industry who will have jobs they otherwise would not have. The beneficial effects for them of a tariff are perfectly clear. But if we import less steel, foreigners earn fewer dollars. They have fewer dollars to spend in this country. There are people around the country who will not have jobs, not have productive jobs because exports do not develop.
</blockquote>
Trump has stood by his tariff strategy, even as the markets plummet. &#8220;Some day people will realize that Tariffs, for the United States of America, are a very beautiful thing!&#8221; the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-stands-by-tariffs-a-beautiful-thing-to-behold?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;row=1&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;title=Trump+Stands+By+Tariffs%3A+%E2%80%98A+Beautiful+Thing+To+Behold%E2%80%99&amp;category=News">said</a> on Monday morning.

Elon Musk Speaks At America PAC Town Hall Ahead Of Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

Elon Musk Takes Apparent Stance Against Trump Tariffs, Quotes Famed Economist On Merits Of Free Trade

Milton Friedman

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the ruling by a court to ban French right-wing leader Marine Le Pen from running for office was part of a “witch hunt” to keep her out of power. 
In a Truth Social post, Trump compared the ruling against Le Pen to the Russian collusion investigation that marred much of his first term in office. A court this week ruled that Le Pen and other members of the National Rally Party were guilty of embezzlement and banned the populist political figure from seeking office for five years.
“The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going so far as to put that Opponent in prison,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114277430639309106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> before referencing the discredited Trump-Russian narrative.  
“It is the same ‘playbook’ that was used against me by a group of Lunatics and Losers, like Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, and Lisa Monaco. They spent the last nine years thinking of nothing else, and they FAILED, because the People of the United States realized that they were only Corrupt Lawyers and Politicians,” Trump said. 
Trump added that he didn’t know Le Pen, but appreciated “how hard she worked for so many years.”
“She suffered losses, but kept on going, and now, just before what would be a Big Victory, they get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about – Sounds like a ‘bookkeeping’ error to me,” Trump said. “It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!”
Trump&#8217;s post was shared on X by his top donor, Elon Musk, who posted, &#8220;Free Le Pen!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Free Le Pen! <a href="https://t.co/mtx3ndQ10r">pic.twitter.com/mtx3ndQ10r</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1908013951113195741?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Le Pen was convicted over accusations that she took $4.9 million of European Parliament funds designed to aid legislators in the European Parliament to pay party staffers uninvolved in work for the parliament. Her party currently holds a plurality of seats in France&#8217;s national assembly but has not been able to put together a coalition government. 
In a recent interview, Le Pen, who was a front-runner in the French presidential election, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/millions-of-french-people-that-have-been-silenced-marine-le-pen-reacts-to-ban-on-her-running?row=0&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;author=Hank+Berrien&amp;title=‘Millions+Of+French+People+That+Have+Been+Silenced’%3A+Marine+Le+Pen+Reacts+To+Ban+On+Her+Running&amp;category=News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the ruling against her was politically motivated.
“I think the judges got it wrong,” she said. “I think they chose to ignore all of the explanations that were given because, in the very first hours of this trial, I had understood that the court was biased against us. I did not think the magistrates would go this far against our democratic process and interfere this much with the choice of the French. Let’s be clear: I have been silenced but it’s the voice of millions of French people that have been silenced as we speak tonight.”
Le Pen is speaking Sunday in Paris at a rally called “Let’s Save Democracy!&#8221;

MixCollage-04-Apr-2025-11-46-AM-2543

‘Using Lawfare To Silence Free Speech’: Trump Slams ‘Witch Hunt’ Against Marine Le Pen

Menu