Watch Musk nearly cry and threaten to kill Social Security
Donald Trump donor and multibillionaire Elon Musk gave an interview on Monday to Larry Kudlow of Fox Business and promoted conspiracy theories, advocated cutting the social safety net, and whined about being criticized.
Musk told Kudlow that “entitlement spending” (referring to vital programs like Social Security and Medicare) needed to be eliminated and used that as his springboard to promote the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory.
“That is the mechanism by which the Democrats attract and retain illegal immigrants by essentially paying them to come here and then turning them into voters,” Musk said.
Racist groups have promoted this false notion for years and the idea has been used as motivation for multiple racist mass shootings over the last decade. The Southern Poverty Law Center notes, “It depends on stoking fears that a non-white population, which the theory’s proponents characterize as ‘inferior,’ will displace a white majority.”
Musk has promoted dozens of racist ideas and memes on social media and since his purchase of X, the site has become a hub of bigoted content.
Musk’s call to “eliminate” programs like Social Security promoted an immediate response.
“Musk said the quiet part out loud: he’s going after your Social Security and Medicare. Period,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) wrote on X.
The billionaire justified his opposition to safety net programs with the false claim that they are a significant source of fraud. But a recent report from the Social Security inspector general revealed that from 2015 to 2022 that less than 1% of payments sent out by the agency were considered improper.
Musk also reiterated a lie that Trump used in his recent address to a joint session of Congress alleging that millions of dead people are receiving Social Security payments.
At one point Musk appeared to be near tears as he discussed criticism he has received for his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency, the group empowered by Trump to attack and cut funding to multiple government agencies. He said he was running his other businesses like SpaceX and Tesla “with great difficulty” but “I’m just here trying to make government more efficient.”
Musk is getting public backlash because he, Trump, and DOGE are firing hundreds of federal workers, invading private records, and disrupting agencies providing vital lifesaving services. Their actions have led to protests at Tesla dealerships and at congressional town halls because Musk is an unaccountable bureaucrat empowered by massive campaign donations.
He made a choice to get involved in these issues and that has consequences.