Imagine constantly craving attention and conflict and then landing a flashy new job with almost unlimited power that you can unleash on people you have long cast as enemies. Now imagine those perceived enemies claiming that your new power creates conspicuous conflicts of interest. Finally, imagine a big part of your new job is ruling on whether conflict-of-interest claims are accurate.
That’s what its like these days to be Elon Musk, the multibillionaire empowered by President Donald Trump and Republicans to slash and burn the federal government while firing all sorts of low-level employees, even as Musk’s cluster of corporations rake in your tax dollars through fat federal contracts.
It was completely predictable that Musk, one of those public provocateurs who reflexively plays the victim of any critical reaction, would use his newfound power atop the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, to exact revenge on journalistic institutions that examine his businesses while rejoicing in cuts to federal regulators that have done their jobs, fielding complaints from Musk’s customers.
It is equally predictable that Trump would play so convincingly dumb when asked about Musk’s conflicts of interest, after putting Musk in charge of policing his conflicts of interest. Trump, known for squeezing the presidency for every dime he can pocket, doesn’t care about any of that. Republicans seem happy to just let it happen.
He’s basking in the reflected attention created by Musk. They share the same addiction. It’s called “Look at me!” Details be damned.
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Musk has been busy erasing glaring conflicts of interest. Trump shrugs.
Reuters, an international news service, drew Musk’s ire last week when it reported that his DOGE appeared to be driven more by “political ideology” than by concern about costs.
This was a natural target for Musk since Reuters last year won a respected journalism prize, the George Polk Award, for reporting on how his manufacturing enterprises had harmed employees and consumers. Musk pounced, deriding a federal contract awarded to the news service’s parent company, Thomson Reuters, which has a technical division apart from the company’s journalism endeavors.
As The Washington Post noted Saturday, the $9 million four-year contract was awarded for helping prevent cyberattacks in America.
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But that’s accurate context. Musk and Trump shrug that off with ease. Trump climbed up on Musk’s shoulders to decry “Radical Left Reuters” working on a federal contract.
One big problem with that – Thomson Reuters pointed out that the contract was awarded during Trump’s first term as president. So Trump’s claim amounts to his confession that he’s in cahoots with the “radical left.”
CFPB was investigating Tesla. So, obviously, it had to go.
Musk has also reveled in the Trump administration attacks on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, a federal agency that offers safeguards for American taxpayers against “unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices” by taking actions against companies that break the law.
“CFPB RIP,” Musk posted on his disinformation-riddled social media site two weeks ago as the agency came under attack.
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Those condescending condolences turned out to be premature. A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to stop for now layoffs and funding cuts at the agency. That order also protected CFPB data from being deleted.
Go to the agency’s website. Use the search engine to ask about Tesla, the electric car manufacturer owned by Musk. Peruse the nearly 400 complaints filed with CFPB by Tesla customers. Read up while you can. And let the buyer beware!
DOGE is making claims not backed up by facts
Musk has repeatedly claimed that DOGE is being transparent in all things, which Trump has backed up, despite weeks of the new agency offering little to no substantive detail about what it was doing.
The agency posted “evidence” of $55 billion in cuts made so far.
One problem there: DOGE is really bad at math and the evidence showed big, honking mistakes, making it immediately clear the agency had really cut closer to $8.5 billion – or 85% less than what DOGE had claimed.
Who could blame them? Trump spent months talking about how Musk was running the DOGE, only for them to back all the way off, in the face of legal challenges to the agency’s actions.
The White House now just shrugs when asked who is in charge at DOGE.
Maybe DOGE really stands for: Deny Organization Guided by Elon?
Or maybe Trump and Musk are full of bluster that blows away when pressed for facts. Maybe the big claims are the whole point and truth was never part of the plan.
Musk’s misinformation is part of the Republican messaging
On Fox News Monday, talking head Jesse Watters said the quiet part out loud, clearly enamored with what he touted as “a 21st century information warfare campaign.” He was gleeful that this warfare started on Musk’s social media platform X, a cesspool of disinformation.
“What you’re seeing on the right is asymmetrical,” Watters bragged. “Someone says something on social media. Musk retweets it. (Joe) Rogan podcasts it. Fox broadcasts it. And by the time it reaches everybody, millions of people have seen it.”
I’m sure Trump and Musk, like their fan boy Watters, are all about audience share. Accuracy? Integrity? Who needs that when you can reach “millions of people” with misinformation that fits your messaging?
Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan