If you follow Steve Bannon's War Room this is not an unexpected development. I agree that Musk's reaction is immature and was similar to his reaction regarding the H-1B visa debate. Musk is not an emotionally mature individual.
But there is something much more troubling going on with Trump regarding the Ukraine attack on Russia's strategic bomber fleet that is not getting enough attention. I think the attack was a mistake for several reasons, but it could at least be justified by Trump on the grounds that Putin needed some more incentive to seriously consider stopping the Ukraine War.
But Trump denies that he knew about the attack, which either means he is woefully uninformed about an attack that surely required some input from U.S. intelligence agencies, or he is lying about an attack that could potentially provoke a world war. Either scenario is frightening.
I have yet to hear a statement from CIA Director Ratcliffe or DNI Director Gabbard, which definitively denies all US involvement. Both Lyndsey Graham and Mike Pompeo just happened to be in Ukraine when the attack happened. It would seem that our foreign policy is still being run by an un-elected Deep State apparatus. We elected Trump to get us out out of unnecessary wars, not to escalate them. Why are we still providing Ukraine with intelligence support?
The seeming complete lack of action by Bondi at Justice and Patel at FBI to do anything to dismantle the Deep State is also troubling.
After everything Trump has been through, he deserves an enormous benefit of the doubt and he is obviously better than the alternative. But the clock is ticking and people who were hoping for a dramatic change in the direction of our government are losing patience. I'm not sure Trump realizes the level of frustration that is building.
But is Trump an emotionally mature individual? I think not, that’s probably why they were a pair in the first place.
That said, I kind of believe Trump when he said he wasn’t involved in the Ukraine attacks on Russia. He seems to sincerely want a truce, but this is a Deep State war and way over his head. Either that, or he’s an incredible liar and they’re all Deep State and we’re screwed.
No Trump is also emotionally immature. I also tend to think that Trump was not aware of the attack and that our foreign policy is still in the hands of the permanent foreign policy establishment. That Trump seems not to care that this is the case is more than a little worrisome. If he really didn't know about this attack, he should be furious with his foreign policy team for not letting him know.
“he should be furious with his foreign policy team for not letting him know.”
Tulsi was hired to find and put a stop to things like this. So what happened and what has she told Trump about it? Her silence on this is not at all reassuring.
Exactly. The silence from everyone on Trump's team about the dangerous implications of this is deafening. If our intelligence agencies did not green light this, they should be making that clear. They should also be making it clear to Ukraine that we will not be providing the with any more intelligence support.
“They should also be making it clear to Ukraine that we will not be providing the with any more intelligence support.”
We are just so far gone that I can’t even imagine that happening. Easy to imagine things getting much crazier though. History says this is the direction we’re heading in though, big time.
It could be the UK using data from Five Eyes which should have been terminated years ago. I also find it hard to believe that Vance, Rubio, Gabbard, or Hegseth knew. Ratcliff maybe. Back in the day, Nixon and Kissinger were so distrustful of the foreign policy blob that they used a Soviet translator for the SALT negotiations. Not a great idea but this is what Presidents have to deal with. Condoleezza Rice was a fluent Russian speaker so Bush didn't have that problem though he had many others.
Yes he is, but his instincts are to avoid conflict and seek diplomatic solutions. He is a deal maker at heart. I was hoping that with people on his team like Gabbard and Vance, he would not be so easily pushed around by institutional power. It appears my hopes may have been misplaced.
The unlawful interference of Federal courts in immigration, which is part of President Trump's foreign policy powers, coupled with the Trump administration's acceptance of the unlawful interference, has created the perception of weakness. This perception of foreign policy weakness is being exploited by America's deep state, in partnership with Ukraine. The unlawful conduct of the Federal courts has therefore become a national security threat by undermining the President's foreign policy and national security powers.
Take for example, the various cases of visa cancellations. With visa cancellations, Federal law stipulates that courts have no jurisdiction, all power is vested in the Secretary of State who works for the President. A December, 2024 9-0 Supreme Court decision upheld the law. The reason that the involvement of the courts is unlawful is that the judges know the immigration law bars them from jurisdiction, as well as the December, 2024 Supreme Court decision.
The Trump administration should have held their ground, and ignored the unlawful judicial interference, which has now led to the unintended consequence of a Dr Strangelove-like attack on Russia's nuclear deterrence forces.
Not liking the criminal angle eh? How about letting a self serving billionaire who lines his own pockets and those of his cronies running the place with no to few guard rails, like his pal Putin - that better?
Please tell us exactly what Trump was convicted of and why those crimes are so heinous. Unless you're just one of those people who parrots "34 Felonies!" but has no idea what exactly they were.
Cookin' the books sister,to the tune of $300 million USD smackeroos, feeding into the narraitve (well, more like fact in NYC) that Trump is a con man (and a rather lofty one - we all do it they say, but not to that extreme), which typically involves some form of financial fraud. In no way surprising though. You believe he's an INNOCENT?
“But there is something much more troubling going on with Trump regarding the Ukraine attack on Russia's strategic bomber fleet that is not getting enough attention.”
Sails past most like water off a duck’s back. How can that be possible?
This was extremely dangerous. An attack on part of the triad has long been considered the opening move in a nuclear war. I tend to believe Trump when he said he wasn't informed. He did veto the Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear complex which was not nearly this crazy. But remember the Deep State and our NATO "allies" who are slavering for all-out war with Russia. I don't know how they think they would survive it. I would like to know whether it was Trump or Putin that initiated the phone call. I do believe Putin when he says he is going to retaliate but against who. I really hope but don't believe that the Ukrainians did this on their own hook. It might be in Putin's interest to pretend they did even if he knows better. There is a non-nuclear device that generates an EMP effect. One of those over Kiev might be an option. Doesn't cross any red lines about attacking a NATO country, doesn't cross the nuclear threshold, doesn't have the gigantic footprint that a space based EMP would and could be justified as degrading the C3I assets that Ukraine would need for a repeat.
Yes, this was a dangerous and foolish attack. The MSM keeps yammering on about what a brilliant move this was on Ukraine's part and how it may be a turning part in the war. The attack does almost nothing to affect the situation on the ground in Ukraine and only serves as a provocation for Putin to do something that drags us in to direct conflict. This has CIA and MI6 written all over it. Trump should be demanding an explanation of how this happened and heads should roll.
I was listening to a video this morning of an Indian former ambassador to Russia for many years who said the same thing. He said Russia will have to do something drastic or they will just keep hitting harder and harder. This is simply awful.
Max Boot (Russian born, US citizen, neocon) of Washington Post called the attack ‘Russia’s Pearl Harbor’. Without a thought to the ‘Big Boy’ retribution that was exacted several years after that Pearl Harbor by that original victim. Anyway, Max’s comment picked up currency on X and MSM and those sources also didn’t think it through.
I agree with Richard that the recent Ukrainian drone attack on Russia escalates an already dangerous situation. By perhaps we’re also selling Ukrainian intelligence and military short. Could Ukraine have conceived, planned and conducted this attack without USA (and/or UK) intelligence or fire-knowledge. I can’t say absolutely yes or absolutely no; honestly I’d be guessing. But then why not give Ukraine some credit ?? The Ukrainians are bright, clever people; albeit with highly dishonest leadership. Who is to say that Ukrainians can’t be just as cunning as the Israeli’s were with their coordinated simultaneous explosion of Hamas phones and pagers. I’ve listened to and read several commentaries from credible former CIA operatives who indicate this attack on Russia was pure-Ukrainian. I don’t know that’s totally true, but as of now I’d seriously discount any claims by the NYT or WaPo. Recent history shows both these papers lack credibility in information sourcing, and have no problem with pushing a narrative they are comfortable with.
Possible. They have indeed been clever. Anyone CIA would have a strong incentive to lie about involvement. Hopefully, there is no smoking gun for the Russians to find. But the celebration in the West is dangerous even if the Ukrainians acted alone.
Put yourself in Trump's place. There are things that are worth doing, and which the president will authorize. But he can't acknowledge knowing about them, It's just another day in DC.
Lincoln did one helluva song and dance concerning the Confederate states. They had done nothing illegal or unconstitutional. He had to find ways to justify going to war, without having a war. So the civil war was not a war; it was a 'rebellion' by states that in fact had a constitutional right to secede.
Don't take the law too seriously. God knows, our 'leaders' don't.
Yes, he has an ego. He goes off when he should keep it in. Yes, that makes him vulnerable, but it doesn't make him stupid.
If I said Trump was a liar, millions would agree with me. But if I said he can keep a secret, those same millions would disagree. But a lie is the keeping of a secret.
Trump knows what he's doing. Remember, he is the president, in spite of nothing but headwinds coming from DC and every blue state. This is no accident. It's not luck. It's a guy who's damned good at what he's doing.
I’ll give Trump the benefit of the doubt because the Democrats, all of them, are frightening. The alternative is so horrible I can’t even consider turning on Trump. It’s 130 days! Come on folks…in our life times no President has done more in 130 days.
Couldn't Pompeo be arrested for violating FARA? Or for trying to assassinate Julian Assange at least. He's a bad player along with his boyfriend Lindsey.
Ukraine's attack is a media creation. Those bombers are relics, and are not really being used. Ukraine's attack is kind of pointless, since Russia has been using drones and missiles far more that those bombers. I'm beyond upset that the GOP can't figure out what the base is looking for...
Do drones carry payloads of bombs, nuclear warheads? The US still uses jets. Remember when Hegseth advertised the US was sending jets to bomb the Houthis?
I think the strongest source of Bannon's dislike stems from Musk's interest in transhumanism with his Neuralink project. Bannon is strongly opposed to AI and sees it as anti-Christian. Musk is not a Christian and sees some form of AI linked with human intelligence as the future.
Musk also has business ties to China which Bannon opposes and Musk favors using immigrant workers in his company -- another red flag for Bannon.
Bannon and Musk also crossed paths in the first Trump administration and I think Bannon took a personal dislike to Musk although this is just speculation on my part.
In any case there is no doubt that Bannon now despises Musk to the point of irrationality. I have been a big fan of Bannon's War Room and there is no doubt that Bannon has been extraordinarily influential and prescient. But it's hard to listen to him talk about deporting Musk and seizing the assets of Space X.
I think Musk crossed a line when he tried to link Trump to Epstein but I also think that Musk has been a very valuable asset to Trump. I see Musk as an idealist. He cares about his vision of the future, which includes going to Mars and incorporating technology with human intelligence. It's not my vision, but I have no doubt that this what drives Musk
I think Bannon's accusation that Musk got involved in DOGE to enrich himself is absurd. I think Bannon knows this but he plays hardball and will do whatever he can to destroy Musk. Although I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Bannon has done, I think he wrong about Musk and watching him go on unhinged rants against Musk is painful to watch.
And when people like Bannon appear unreasonable, it creates doubt in the movement too. We need to be a solid force, if we are ousting anyone it needs to be Lindsey Graham.
Thank you for taking the time to explain it! I worry about Musk and trans humanism too but o think what they are doing with DOGE was so important, I am scared Trump is blowing the chance to reshape government. I know it isn’t as easy as talking about it but I am worried he is running off the good ones. Musk is invaluable to this movement.
I share your concerns about transhumanism and AI, it's quite possible that it will lead to some very bad results but I don't think it's realistic to think we are just going to stop its development. It may be that we would all lead happier and more fulfilling lives if we lived simple lives like the Amish but I just don't think that's going to happen.
The coalition that Trump put together to win the election was wonderful and gave me some real hope for the future. I now share your concern that it's all coming apart with different factions at each others throats. I suppose it was to be expected that there was going to be friction with people with such diverse viewpoints as Bannon and Musk but I don't like to see it and it hurts the country.
Although I didn't like Musk's reaction to Trump's criticism, I still think Musk is a very important part of the coalition to change our government to make it more responsive to the people. I wish this feud never happened.
I hope you’re wrong about the Trump coalition coming apart. I think there’s a good chance that a great majority of his team are so firmly grounded in faith and a sound grasp of our foundations as a Constitutional republic, they will serve as an anchor through many a storm. So far they’ve done an amazing job, considering the constant barrage of fierce attacks from the Left.
If we are going to split Ukraine, then it requires a “two state” solution for dividing territory. Russia wants 5 Oblasts that they currently do not fully control; including cities of Kharkiv, Kiev and most critically, Odessa. This includes all the important Ports, shipyards, pipelines, and rail links and massive coal, iron oxide, limestone and rate earth deposits. It also includes all the nuclear power. Trump realizes that the USA, has already invested massively and is running out of money, and needs to be on the winning side of this land and resource grab. The Chinese and the Europeans would be frozen out, since they just sit and talk about “global order”. In thr Trump Putin deal, we would invest in reconstruction of the important infrastructure, and then and own a share of the export earnings until deposits are exhausted. To secure this and he wants to be the guaranteed a discount from the spot price on rair earths.
Why do you think US intelligence agencies' involvement in Ukraine's drone attack was necessary? Our intelligence agencies have whiffed so many times in the recent past and are probably full of leaks. This was a home-grown effort, frighteningly easy to implement and completely missed by those whose job it was to anticipate. Reminds me of the strategy of commandeering lightly loaded commercial airliners and flying them into office buildings
The drone attack is just PR and disinformation. Meant to convince us of how brave and resolute are Ukraines freedom fighters. It is just teasing the Bear.
I think US intelligence agencies were likely involved because they have been providing Ukraine with intelligence and targeting support throughout the entire war. The attack did next to nothing to affect situation on the ground in Ukraine but did serve as a humiliation and provocation to Putin, which is the goal of our Deep State. I don't think it was a coincidence that Lindsey Graham and Mike Pompeo just happened to be in Ukraine cheering this attack on.
If it is true that none of our intelligence agencies had any knowledge of the attack they should say so. Gabbard or Ratcliffe should issue a statement that we had nothing to do with this attack and the targeting of Russian strategic bombers is not the policy of the United States. They should also make clear that we will no longer be providing intelligence support to Ukraine.
Zelensky obviously could not tell trump about the drone attack because trump would pass it on to his idol Putin! Much better to let trump think that Zelensky didn't "have any cards."
DeSantis is a highly competent executive, extremely smart, hard-working, and well-informed - Trump has none of those qualities so Trump would be completely jealous of DeSantis.
You must work at financial house influenced by government. RdS is a great governor, but he has done nothing in the real world and will be beholden to globalists like Ken Griffin of Citadel. He was a JAG lawyer in the Navy, never worked in the private sector.
Trump has negotiated things almost everyone hasn't even touched, including you.
This isn't as much about egos as people think it is. Elon sees the national debt as a serious problem and wants major action against it, but he's not a politician and doesn't need to seek re-election. The reality is that no US politician, including Trump, is willing to actually get the deficit under control because this requires significant increases to taxes and major cuts to spending, particularly to entitlements. In other words, you have to piss everyone off, including senior citizens, who are the most powerful electoral block in the country. The BBB completely caves on taxes and has limited cuts to spending that are simply not sufficient to make up for the difference. Unfortunately, the problem for a voter who cares about the national debt is that a Harris administration would likely have been even worse.
Just like your older teenage son starts to feel his oats, it's time to tell him to pack up and leave the house. This is just distraction material for state media.
If Elon is against it, where does that put the Democrats? Up until a few weeks ago, they were destroying everything Musk…now all of a sudden Musk is on the other side. Don’t buy it.
Elon Musk is more MAGA than Trump is, and I support his call out that this Big Ass Bill will increase the debt. Any Democrat who wants to join him on that point is A+ in my book. Reducing the debt (and preserving our fiat currency wealth) is to me, is a core conservative value. I hope the GOP leadership, post-Trump is paying close attention. As this is a point that can split the new Populist party. Choose wisely.
I noticed house rep MT Greene is now also withdrawing her support of this Big Bill. On the grounds of language in bill that would limit States from regulating AI for 10 years. Good on her, too. Riddle me why States can’t regulate AI?
She should have read it more closely before voting for it. Let states regulate. We'll see what comes out of the Senate. This bill could be more back and forth than what we expect. What I am happy to see is that there is not a compliant straight line vote in favor of it.
If it’s as Big & Beautiful as described there could be all kinds of stuff in there that isn’t (yet) public. Perhaps Elon’s rant provides some clearance for more to speak up. I hope so. I’m no fan of Big Bills for the reason that they always result in a larger, more expansive federal government. IMO, Trump is reading the room incorrectly by not pressing House to send forth individual bills that everyone can see and understand.
This whole thing is unsettling at best, but I am honestly worried that the Dems trying to literally destroy him has taken a toll and he very well may be self-medicating. Maybe it's time for Mama Musk to peek in.
If I was Musk, I'd be pissed and disgusted that his efforts to eliminate bullshit spending was met with totally hysterical bullshit. I'm sure he got a very rude awaking as to how our sloppy government operates. It's very anti-smart from a business perspective. Regular people would be bankrupt if we spent our money like our government.
I agree. I listened to Ron Johnson (my senator) on an All In podcast special and he makes a lot of sense. He, too, came from owning his business prior to his senate run. I truly get what he's saying, and I think Trump would have been better at laying out a 5 year plan for bringing down the debt and deficit. I also must add that the effing judges who keep impeding the relocation of illegals and two wars that continue have consumed more time than Trump had anticipated. And on Elon's end, he has no idea how DC operates while Trump has already had a go at it.
AOC is on record publicly calling for $10T of spending. That is over a third of GDP on the Fed govt alone. Total govt spending might then exceed 50%. Can we say “Marxist society”?
I’ve noticed some online normy D’s calling out Trump for increasing debt. That’s likely just reflexive anti-Trump sentiment. But I welcome it on this point.
Of course, reflexive. Ds didn't give a shit about Biden's 4+ trillion dollar deficit increase in 2022. Student loan cancelation among the most egregious.
Jen, it’s been both D’s and R’s who have increased our fiat currency debt since 1972. Over and over. Bad shit happens to countries when their debt to GDP % ratio gets out of whack. I don’t want that coming to our shores.
Silver just hit a 13 year high. Gold prices also quite high (and has increased in value +175% in last decade)
I'm referring to the complete disinterest by Ds from the most recent 4 years. It's pretty rich to listen to people squawking about debt/deficits when billions of student debt was canceled at taxpayers expense. I believe at this point our debt exceeds our GDP. Divest yourself, good for gold and silver, they've never been worth nothing.
Yes, reflexive anti-Trump. I will send you a crisp $20 bill if any Dem crosses over and votes for the Budget bill as currently constructed. The Dems are all in for more spending and especially, more taxes. They are just fine letting the current tax cuts for the middle class, sunset. That is $5000 per family more in taxes on average and brings those with $40-50K of income into taxable income while right now they do not pay taxes. The Dems lie when they say the tax bill is a giveaway to the rich. No, it is relief for the poor. They will NEVER admit that
While I agree with Musk on the need to further cut spending and the debt, his childishness in dealing with the budget bill is over the top. Politics is a game of hundreds of Congressmen who all get a vote. On these tough bills, it only takes one or two votes the wrong way to blow up the bill. So the bills are delicately crafted to keep a majority on board. There is ZERO chance that Musk will get any Democrats to cross over and demand and then vote for more cuts. That is how any Dem will get primaried. Even John Fetterman is at risk. Kyrsten Sinema was primaried for her little bit of opposition on Dem votes. Musk does not understand the game and is used to getting his own way. He has the personality of a 10 year old
We are nearly $37 Trillion dollars in debt. The BBB included 1 trillion dollars for the "Department of Offense" and would add over 4-5 trillion to the deficit.
I'm a 3x Trump voter. But I bitterly oppose Trump's call to permanently lift the debt ceiling. That's insane. And when your bedfellow in that action is Elizabeth Warren, you might want to pause and reconsider. Unlimited spending leads to diminishing the wealth of future generations, long after those choosing to do so are in the grave -- and therefore won't pay a price for their foolish ways. Gen X says 'enough' of this bullshit!
From Rand Paul, Trump thinks the debt ceiling discussion gets blamed on him, so he wants to stop having it. Not a good plan IMHO. The R party is being dumb because everything they do in the BBB will be "old news" in 6 months. They should do some cutting RIGHT NOW.
I just want everyone to keep this energy when a democrat is President. Because no one seemed to care about the spending under Biden. Or the fact that we would spend more and raise taxes under Harris.
If Trump was really in the Epstein files the Dems would have already leaked it, duh!
Elon needs Trump way more than Trump needs Elon. Elon already said that he was fine with the EV rebates going away, now he changes his tune? He knew all along they were going away, as they should.
MAGA people don’t care about Elon if he’s not on board with MAGA. His motives are not our motives.
1. Very possible, but if they had this info before the election they would have used it. The fact they didn’t use it tells me that they didn’t have it. Dems usually don’t care about collateral damage and there’s many Dems who don’t like the Clintons.
2. Also very possible, but there’s enough people in power that hate Israel that would have released this info if they really had it.
I am sure a lot of people in power hate Israel but fear its power, and if you think that Epstein is the only one who had interesting secrets about Serious and Important People...
Something similar could be said about Clinton, who is notoriously vengeful.
Look at Trump's hostory with Epstein, his pageants, his infidelity with a porn actress, his creepy comments about his daughter and women in general, his lying and narcissism and lifelong avoidance of accountability. I'd bet anything that he's been in bed with a minor.
MAGA doesn't care--just more to trigger the libtards with.
At the end, it is always about the money. I’ll wait for the fog to clear and try not to get emotionally involved in this collision and the other geopolitical conflicts getting more complicated.
Why has no one published a 50 year plan to get our sovereign debt under control? Could we imagine such a thing where we reduce spending by 2% per year and pay capital of 2% per year on the national debt? How come no one in congress has proposed such a thing? If we made sure that everyone was reading by 4th grade, our nation would have additional prosperity. Today there are over 30 Illinois schools without a single student doing math or reading at grade level. Let's migrate states and the nation to defined contribution pensions instead of defined benefit packages. Doing that will make this country great again.
The democrats want to spend without looking at the price tag.
The republicans want to give tax cuts to people who are too rich to spend it while taking a chainsaw to valuable public goods but preserving pork to their own districts.
Both sides want to hurl blame when the results suck.
Absolutely nobody behaves with any sense of responsibility.
Based on my recent experience lobbying in DC in May, most in congress think of the federal government as a cookie jar, on both sides of the aisle, but we need them to keep state financial obligations, state financial obligations. Amazing how we didn't have a federal piggy bank before we enacted a federal income tax just prior to WW1.
If we can’t do something as basic and essential as maintain functional public schools what can we maintain? I most surely do blame this on the democrats and their equity poison. This is an impossible situation.
Bill Maher on Kamala Harris and Chicago public schools.
“Chicago Teachers Union: Tests are racist.” (2 min)
Essential education has been undermined to keep kids stupid and lacking the ability to thinking logically. This was by design. I look forward to Linda McMahon putting the strangle hold on the Department of Ed. You know what? Learning is free. All it requires is a library card at least. We've become a culture that can't read past a headline and most people don't care. Mediocrity has become the high standard of most everything.
Never, ever, EVER believe our Mark Burnett trained, Apprentice story line crafting reality TV star POTUS isn’t co-engineering a plot line for our Omarosa-Elon villain. Remember, Trump runs a WWF-Kayfabe kabuki theater presidency with heels and baby faces. His friend Vince McMahon taught him this. His Secretary of Education reminds him of this. It’s the show baby!
Elon needs some redemption in the public eye. A spat, playing out on TV like Hulk Hogan turning on Macho Man Randy Savage, now endears Musk again to his liberal EV crowd - the sworn enemies of Evil Mr. McMahon. Perhaps now they’ll stop tossing Molotov cocktails at his dealerships as he’s welcomed back to the Trump hating resistance.
Conspiracy? Yes. But Trump is a TV President more skilled at manipulating plot lines and whipsawing viewer emotions than anything we’ve ever seen. He plays 4-D chess in emotional predation. We’re the suckers who lap it up in the VIP seats at Wrestlemania.
Gotta have a heel. At the end of the day, most heels are only heels for effect. Could this be more chum for fools? Throw out a juicy bucket and watch the predators and bottom feeders swarm. As they're swarming, Trump's busy with more pressing matters unhindered by media/congressional sad sacks.
Exactly. Watch “Mr. McMahon” on Netflix. Trump is Vince McMahon. But his Wrestlemania is US politics. He choreographs the storylines. He controls the story arcs. Just as he did on The Apprentice. He understands this is all “The Show”. This is why he meets world leaders on live TV. They just haven’t been let in on the Kayfabe underworld yet. This is distraction and a way for Elon to flip the script.
I'm a bit of a wrestling junky as us kids had only a handful of channels to watch back in the day. "Mr. McMahon" was a great watch to see all the behind the scenes, down and dirty, ruthless opperating. I think Linda McMahon was the true brains behind their success. The perception always has to be willing to pivot to keep the show rolling. Trump absolutely understands this.
Maybe if Don Jr and Eric or others in the very inner circle don't pipe in, we can conclude this is Kayfabe. Otherwise, not so sure it's not a classic clash of titans.
I could have believed something like this, but Musk has a long history of not giving a shit what people think of him and I'm not so sure Trump would be all in on a plan that involved Musk accusing him of being an Epstein client. What self respecting person would play games with implicating themselves in pedophilia?
It doesn't have to be orchestrated between them but Trump is definitely using it to pause WW3 cause now everyone is watching this keyboard fight. Originally, the plan was to ignore Musk but than Trump chose the moment to respond knowing it would escalate the whole thing and everything he does or doesn't is always for a reason. The world is mesmerized by this like he knew it would be so one has to wonder what he doesn't want a focus on. And I think he's safe as far as Epstein goes. it's guilty by association rather than guilty guilty. There's hardly a Washington or a Hollywood figure that didn't know the guy and didn't appear in the files. So yeah, this is a controlled distraction by design that could have been killed quickly if only 1 side was raging and rampaging.
I think you have this backward - Trump is having the hissy fit and threatening to cancel Space X contracts. Boeing to the rescue? Basically would hand China space supremacy. As self-destructive as Democrats are - embracing the neo-Nazi Jew-hating left - never under-estimate the ability of the GOP to out-do them in that department.
But the national debt is the single largest threat facing our nation now, and Democrats are constitutionally incapable of dealing with it.
We can thank the Biden administration and the Dems for most of the financial mess we are in now. I’d like to trust that Trump and Bessent know what they are doing. We can’t continue down this road any longer. Truly a cluster…
Trump added $8.18 trillion to the debt in his first term. He doesn't care about it at all. Guy just babbles whatever he thinks people want to hear and his supporters believe it.
I agree, but I’ve also read that the debt is near impossible to pay off, and the country could not function without raising the ceiling. It’s definitely a clusterf#*k.
Of course it could function. We did okay in the 1980s with a third of the bureaucracy we now have Those who claim we can't cut spending are the ones on the receiving end of said spending.
But Trump gave Musk access to every part of every federal database, so if Musk wanted the unredacted files, Musk has them. Trump knows this. I don't see Trump calling out Musk and daring him to release whatever he has.
I voted for Trump but am hugely disappointed that he is betraying Americans and MAGA by 1) arming Israel Zionist genocide of Palestinians, 2) putting forth a huge deficit spending bill, 3) censoring free speech on college campuses and elsewhere. 4) still funding the Zionist Zelensky.
When the ideology says, "death to Israel, death to the west", I believe them. After 911, only an idiot couldn't understand their commitment and obsession with death and destruction for everyone that doesn't comply with radical Islam. Their own people are willing fodder for their effort.
If the "genocide people" gave a damn, they'd be demanding a democratic vote and the elimination of Hamas's squandering of aid and refusal to invest in the success of Gaza. I've not heard that yet. Very easy to blame someone or something else for shit policies and shit results. Of course, when death and destruction is the only agenda...it's hard to have empathy.
I’m sorry Libertarian but I have read too many of your comments. I don’t buy it for a minute. You can cloak your beliefs in whatever makes you feel righteous. But that cloak doesn’t change the truth.
Truth is Israel committed Ethnic Cleansing via genocide and starvation of millions. I wish you would admit the truth so that we could save as many innocent women and children as possible.
It’s not a war; it’s a genocide that Israel started and has committed for the last few years now. I was sorry that Israelis died on 7Oct. That event in no way justifies Zionists killing over 54,000 innocent women and children, maiming over 100,000 and making homeless and starving over 1,000,000 civilians.
Wrong; Zionists have killed over 54,000 women and children, maimed over 100,000, and made homeless and are starving over 1,000,000. That’s a genocide and hundreds of millions of informed and objective people agree with that conclusion and definition.
Yea. Ya know, me being the 9th of 10 poor Irish Catholic kids in Philly, where 4 of my brothers and I served active duty US military, made me a big baby. You might not now that because you didn’t grow up on a big poor family and serve active duty though.
You do know that the Jews are just a warm up, don't you? Look at what the Muzzies are up to in Europe. Do you really think they're a religion of peace? In addition, they're murdering Christians all over the world. When they get done with the American Jews, you're next. Wise up before it's too late.
Seems like you are very racist and an anti-Muslim in the same way you accuse others of being anti-Semite when they criticize Zionists for having committed genocide this year.
Trump could have taken the easy path with Elon & left the EV mandate in the BBB just to placate him. He didn’t & I give Trump credit for that. Read up on the plan for recission bills coming that will codify doge cuts & cut spending. Only non discretionary spending can be in the BBB. Sending recessions packages to congress to vote on for the discretionary stuff will only require a simple majority to pass. We’ll see…
If you follow Steve Bannon's War Room this is not an unexpected development. I agree that Musk's reaction is immature and was similar to his reaction regarding the H-1B visa debate. Musk is not an emotionally mature individual.
But there is something much more troubling going on with Trump regarding the Ukraine attack on Russia's strategic bomber fleet that is not getting enough attention. I think the attack was a mistake for several reasons, but it could at least be justified by Trump on the grounds that Putin needed some more incentive to seriously consider stopping the Ukraine War.
But Trump denies that he knew about the attack, which either means he is woefully uninformed about an attack that surely required some input from U.S. intelligence agencies, or he is lying about an attack that could potentially provoke a world war. Either scenario is frightening.
I have yet to hear a statement from CIA Director Ratcliffe or DNI Director Gabbard, which definitively denies all US involvement. Both Lyndsey Graham and Mike Pompeo just happened to be in Ukraine when the attack happened. It would seem that our foreign policy is still being run by an un-elected Deep State apparatus. We elected Trump to get us out out of unnecessary wars, not to escalate them. Why are we still providing Ukraine with intelligence support?
The seeming complete lack of action by Bondi at Justice and Patel at FBI to do anything to dismantle the Deep State is also troubling.
After everything Trump has been through, he deserves an enormous benefit of the doubt and he is obviously better than the alternative. But the clock is ticking and people who were hoping for a dramatic change in the direction of our government are losing patience. I'm not sure Trump realizes the level of frustration that is building.
But is Trump an emotionally mature individual? I think not, that’s probably why they were a pair in the first place.
That said, I kind of believe Trump when he said he wasn’t involved in the Ukraine attacks on Russia. He seems to sincerely want a truce, but this is a Deep State war and way over his head. Either that, or he’s an incredible liar and they’re all Deep State and we’re screwed.
No Trump is also emotionally immature. I also tend to think that Trump was not aware of the attack and that our foreign policy is still in the hands of the permanent foreign policy establishment. That Trump seems not to care that this is the case is more than a little worrisome. If he really didn't know about this attack, he should be furious with his foreign policy team for not letting him know.
“he should be furious with his foreign policy team for not letting him know.”
Tulsi was hired to find and put a stop to things like this. So what happened and what has she told Trump about it? Her silence on this is not at all reassuring.
Exactly. The silence from everyone on Trump's team about the dangerous implications of this is deafening. If our intelligence agencies did not green light this, they should be making that clear. They should also be making it clear to Ukraine that we will not be providing the with any more intelligence support.
“They should also be making it clear to Ukraine that we will not be providing the with any more intelligence support.”
We are just so far gone that I can’t even imagine that happening. Easy to imagine things getting much crazier though. History says this is the direction we’re heading in though, big time.
It could be the UK using data from Five Eyes which should have been terminated years ago. I also find it hard to believe that Vance, Rubio, Gabbard, or Hegseth knew. Ratcliff maybe. Back in the day, Nixon and Kissinger were so distrustful of the foreign policy blob that they used a Soviet translator for the SALT negotiations. Not a great idea but this is what Presidents have to deal with. Condoleezza Rice was a fluent Russian speaker so Bush didn't have that problem though he had many others.
That data would be long out of date
Trump is the most emotionally mature person in Sodom on Potomac....
We are in agreement
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/06/david-stockman/the-deep-states-drone-attack-was-aimed-to-escalate-the-ukraine-war-and-deny-trump-his-nobel-peace-prize/
I would say that it doesn't matter what Trump wants. He is easily manipulated.
Yes he is, but his instincts are to avoid conflict and seek diplomatic solutions. He is a deal maker at heart. I was hoping that with people on his team like Gabbard and Vance, he would not be so easily pushed around by institutional power. It appears my hopes may have been misplaced.
The unlawful interference of Federal courts in immigration, which is part of President Trump's foreign policy powers, coupled with the Trump administration's acceptance of the unlawful interference, has created the perception of weakness. This perception of foreign policy weakness is being exploited by America's deep state, in partnership with Ukraine. The unlawful conduct of the Federal courts has therefore become a national security threat by undermining the President's foreign policy and national security powers.
Take for example, the various cases of visa cancellations. With visa cancellations, Federal law stipulates that courts have no jurisdiction, all power is vested in the Secretary of State who works for the President. A December, 2024 9-0 Supreme Court decision upheld the law. The reason that the involvement of the courts is unlawful is that the judges know the immigration law bars them from jurisdiction, as well as the December, 2024 Supreme Court decision.
The Trump administration should have held their ground, and ignored the unlawful judicial interference, which has now led to the unintended consequence of a Dr Strangelove-like attack on Russia's nuclear deterrence forces.
Well, we can't exactly have a convicted felon running the place unabridged can we? Oh wait...
Wow, what an important contribution. So predictable, so TDS.
Not liking the criminal angle eh? How about letting a self serving billionaire who lines his own pockets and those of his cronies running the place with no to few guard rails, like his pal Putin - that better?
I hope you’re at least paid to propagate propaganda
Please tell us exactly what Trump was convicted of and why those crimes are so heinous. Unless you're just one of those people who parrots "34 Felonies!" but has no idea what exactly they were.
Cookin' the books sister,to the tune of $300 million USD smackeroos, feeding into the narraitve (well, more like fact in NYC) that Trump is a con man (and a rather lofty one - we all do it they say, but not to that extreme), which typically involves some form of financial fraud. In no way surprising though. You believe he's an INNOCENT?
“But there is something much more troubling going on with Trump regarding the Ukraine attack on Russia's strategic bomber fleet that is not getting enough attention.”
Sails past most like water off a duck’s back. How can that be possible?
This was extremely dangerous. An attack on part of the triad has long been considered the opening move in a nuclear war. I tend to believe Trump when he said he wasn't informed. He did veto the Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear complex which was not nearly this crazy. But remember the Deep State and our NATO "allies" who are slavering for all-out war with Russia. I don't know how they think they would survive it. I would like to know whether it was Trump or Putin that initiated the phone call. I do believe Putin when he says he is going to retaliate but against who. I really hope but don't believe that the Ukrainians did this on their own hook. It might be in Putin's interest to pretend they did even if he knows better. There is a non-nuclear device that generates an EMP effect. One of those over Kiev might be an option. Doesn't cross any red lines about attacking a NATO country, doesn't cross the nuclear threshold, doesn't have the gigantic footprint that a space based EMP would and could be justified as degrading the C3I assets that Ukraine would need for a repeat.
Yes, this was a dangerous and foolish attack. The MSM keeps yammering on about what a brilliant move this was on Ukraine's part and how it may be a turning part in the war. The attack does almost nothing to affect the situation on the ground in Ukraine and only serves as a provocation for Putin to do something that drags us in to direct conflict. This has CIA and MI6 written all over it. Trump should be demanding an explanation of how this happened and heads should roll.
“This has CIA and MI6 written all over it.”
I was listening to a video this morning of an Indian former ambassador to Russia for many years who said the same thing. He said Russia will have to do something drastic or they will just keep hitting harder and harder. This is simply awful.
100%. The MSM are fools and idiots and a threat to our safety.
Max Boot (Russian born, US citizen, neocon) of Washington Post called the attack ‘Russia’s Pearl Harbor’. Without a thought to the ‘Big Boy’ retribution that was exacted several years after that Pearl Harbor by that original victim. Anyway, Max’s comment picked up currency on X and MSM and those sources also didn’t think it through.
According to The NY Times the CIA is running the show.
Putin maybe expecting more help from his pal, like keep Crimea, then take a l'il more, then wait until the next dem president to proceed.
This is the very definition of a no-win situation and no one seems to be talking about what happens if Putin is pushed into a corner.
Will he launch? I’m afraid to know that answer….
I agree with Richard that the recent Ukrainian drone attack on Russia escalates an already dangerous situation. By perhaps we’re also selling Ukrainian intelligence and military short. Could Ukraine have conceived, planned and conducted this attack without USA (and/or UK) intelligence or fire-knowledge. I can’t say absolutely yes or absolutely no; honestly I’d be guessing. But then why not give Ukraine some credit ?? The Ukrainians are bright, clever people; albeit with highly dishonest leadership. Who is to say that Ukrainians can’t be just as cunning as the Israeli’s were with their coordinated simultaneous explosion of Hamas phones and pagers. I’ve listened to and read several commentaries from credible former CIA operatives who indicate this attack on Russia was pure-Ukrainian. I don’t know that’s totally true, but as of now I’d seriously discount any claims by the NYT or WaPo. Recent history shows both these papers lack credibility in information sourcing, and have no problem with pushing a narrative they are comfortable with.
Possible. They have indeed been clever. Anyone CIA would have a strong incentive to lie about involvement. Hopefully, there is no smoking gun for the Russians to find. But the celebration in the West is dangerous even if the Ukrainians acted alone.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/06/david-stockman/the-deep-states-drone-attack-was-aimed-to-escalate-the-ukraine-war-and-deny-trump-his-nobel-peace-prize/
I agree that the lack of interest in the potential implications of this attack is troubling.
More like appalling and flat out horrifying.
Yes, that too.
Put yourself in Trump's place. There are things that are worth doing, and which the president will authorize. But he can't acknowledge knowing about them, It's just another day in DC.
Lincoln did one helluva song and dance concerning the Confederate states. They had done nothing illegal or unconstitutional. He had to find ways to justify going to war, without having a war. So the civil war was not a war; it was a 'rebellion' by states that in fact had a constitutional right to secede.
Don't take the law too seriously. God knows, our 'leaders' don't.
"he can't acknowledge knowing about them"... Trump has a filter? Who knew.
Maybe people didn't wan't him to know. I'm sure he himself didn't until it happened. That way Vlad can't hold him accountable.
I knew.
Yes, he has an ego. He goes off when he should keep it in. Yes, that makes him vulnerable, but it doesn't make him stupid.
If I said Trump was a liar, millions would agree with me. But if I said he can keep a secret, those same millions would disagree. But a lie is the keeping of a secret.
Trump knows what he's doing. Remember, he is the president, in spite of nothing but headwinds coming from DC and every blue state. This is no accident. It's not luck. It's a guy who's damned good at what he's doing.
I’ll give Trump the benefit of the doubt because the Democrats, all of them, are frightening. The alternative is so horrible I can’t even consider turning on Trump. It’s 130 days! Come on folks…in our life times no President has done more in 130 days.
Let’s keep our eye on the ball.
Yes! Well said. Thank you.
Couldn't Pompeo be arrested for violating FARA? Or for trying to assassinate Julian Assange at least. He's a bad player along with his boyfriend Lindsey.
Ukraine's attack is a media creation. Those bombers are relics, and are not really being used. Ukraine's attack is kind of pointless, since Russia has been using drones and missiles far more that those bombers. I'm beyond upset that the GOP can't figure out what the base is looking for...
Do drones carry payloads of bombs, nuclear warheads? The US still uses jets. Remember when Hegseth advertised the US was sending jets to bomb the Houthis?
Exactly!
Will someone explain to me why Bannon dislikes Musk so intensely? Is it over the India immigration controversy?
I think the strongest source of Bannon's dislike stems from Musk's interest in transhumanism with his Neuralink project. Bannon is strongly opposed to AI and sees it as anti-Christian. Musk is not a Christian and sees some form of AI linked with human intelligence as the future.
Musk also has business ties to China which Bannon opposes and Musk favors using immigrant workers in his company -- another red flag for Bannon.
Bannon and Musk also crossed paths in the first Trump administration and I think Bannon took a personal dislike to Musk although this is just speculation on my part.
In any case there is no doubt that Bannon now despises Musk to the point of irrationality. I have been a big fan of Bannon's War Room and there is no doubt that Bannon has been extraordinarily influential and prescient. But it's hard to listen to him talk about deporting Musk and seizing the assets of Space X.
I think Musk crossed a line when he tried to link Trump to Epstein but I also think that Musk has been a very valuable asset to Trump. I see Musk as an idealist. He cares about his vision of the future, which includes going to Mars and incorporating technology with human intelligence. It's not my vision, but I have no doubt that this what drives Musk
I think Bannon's accusation that Musk got involved in DOGE to enrich himself is absurd. I think Bannon knows this but he plays hardball and will do whatever he can to destroy Musk. Although I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Bannon has done, I think he wrong about Musk and watching him go on unhinged rants against Musk is painful to watch.
And when people like Bannon appear unreasonable, it creates doubt in the movement too. We need to be a solid force, if we are ousting anyone it needs to be Lindsey Graham.
Thank you for taking the time to explain it! I worry about Musk and trans humanism too but o think what they are doing with DOGE was so important, I am scared Trump is blowing the chance to reshape government. I know it isn’t as easy as talking about it but I am worried he is running off the good ones. Musk is invaluable to this movement.
I share your concerns about transhumanism and AI, it's quite possible that it will lead to some very bad results but I don't think it's realistic to think we are just going to stop its development. It may be that we would all lead happier and more fulfilling lives if we lived simple lives like the Amish but I just don't think that's going to happen.
The coalition that Trump put together to win the election was wonderful and gave me some real hope for the future. I now share your concern that it's all coming apart with different factions at each others throats. I suppose it was to be expected that there was going to be friction with people with such diverse viewpoints as Bannon and Musk but I don't like to see it and it hurts the country.
Although I didn't like Musk's reaction to Trump's criticism, I still think Musk is a very important part of the coalition to change our government to make it more responsive to the people. I wish this feud never happened.
I hope you’re wrong about the Trump coalition coming apart. I think there’s a good chance that a great majority of his team are so firmly grounded in faith and a sound grasp of our foundations as a Constitutional republic, they will serve as an anchor through many a storm. So far they’ve done an amazing job, considering the constant barrage of fierce attacks from the Left.
Thank you. This is helpful input.
If we are going to split Ukraine, then it requires a “two state” solution for dividing territory. Russia wants 5 Oblasts that they currently do not fully control; including cities of Kharkiv, Kiev and most critically, Odessa. This includes all the important Ports, shipyards, pipelines, and rail links and massive coal, iron oxide, limestone and rate earth deposits. It also includes all the nuclear power. Trump realizes that the USA, has already invested massively and is running out of money, and needs to be on the winning side of this land and resource grab. The Chinese and the Europeans would be frozen out, since they just sit and talk about “global order”. In thr Trump Putin deal, we would invest in reconstruction of the important infrastructure, and then and own a share of the export earnings until deposits are exhausted. To secure this and he wants to be the guaranteed a discount from the spot price on rair earths.
Why do you think US intelligence agencies' involvement in Ukraine's drone attack was necessary? Our intelligence agencies have whiffed so many times in the recent past and are probably full of leaks. This was a home-grown effort, frighteningly easy to implement and completely missed by those whose job it was to anticipate. Reminds me of the strategy of commandeering lightly loaded commercial airliners and flying them into office buildings
The drone attack is just PR and disinformation. Meant to convince us of how brave and resolute are Ukraines freedom fighters. It is just teasing the Bear.
I think US intelligence agencies were likely involved because they have been providing Ukraine with intelligence and targeting support throughout the entire war. The attack did next to nothing to affect situation on the ground in Ukraine but did serve as a humiliation and provocation to Putin, which is the goal of our Deep State. I don't think it was a coincidence that Lindsey Graham and Mike Pompeo just happened to be in Ukraine cheering this attack on.
If it is true that none of our intelligence agencies had any knowledge of the attack they should say so. Gabbard or Ratcliffe should issue a statement that we had nothing to do with this attack and the targeting of Russian strategic bombers is not the policy of the United States. They should also make clear that we will no longer be providing intelligence support to Ukraine.
Zelensky obviously could not tell trump about the drone attack because trump would pass it on to his idol Putin! Much better to let trump think that Zelensky didn't "have any cards."
So you think the attack had some substantial military effect? What is the evidence?
Here you go: https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/06/david-stockman/the-deep-states-drone-attack-was-aimed-to-escalate-the-ukraine-war-and-deny-trump-his-nobel-peace-prize/
Amen. To all of that.
I could have told you that this was going to happen sooner or later. Two egos that massive in a tight space is just a fight waiting to happen.
You're right. Too many people say that Trump DeSantis would have been a great team. Nope and for the same reason.
Very apt post. RdS is backed by the globalists much like Elon although Elon is more focused and independent.
DeSantis is a highly competent executive, extremely smart, hard-working, and well-informed - Trump has none of those qualities so Trump would be completely jealous of DeSantis.
You must work at financial house influenced by government. RdS is a great governor, but he has done nothing in the real world and will be beholden to globalists like Ken Griffin of Citadel. He was a JAG lawyer in the Navy, never worked in the private sector.
Trump has negotiated things almost everyone hasn't even touched, including you.
Trump would never have made it much beyond the mail room if he had not inherited his fortune and his CEO position.
As much as I admire Elon Musk for his brilliance and vision, he is still an immature adult with no class, at all.
Ditto for Trump.
Perhaps the TV version of Trump.
This isn't as much about egos as people think it is. Elon sees the national debt as a serious problem and wants major action against it, but he's not a politician and doesn't need to seek re-election. The reality is that no US politician, including Trump, is willing to actually get the deficit under control because this requires significant increases to taxes and major cuts to spending, particularly to entitlements. In other words, you have to piss everyone off, including senior citizens, who are the most powerful electoral block in the country. The BBB completely caves on taxes and has limited cuts to spending that are simply not sufficient to make up for the difference. Unfortunately, the problem for a voter who cares about the national debt is that a Harris administration would likely have been even worse.
Spot-on.
I axtually am sort of surprised, however, that the blowup didn't happen sooner.
Exactly.
Now media will shift to trying to drive a wedge between Vance and Trump….
Just like your older teenage son starts to feel his oats, it's time to tell him to pack up and leave the house. This is just distraction material for state media.
It also is possibly highly-scripted Kabuki theater meant to make Elon less toxic to the Progressive mob.
You very well may be right and I hope you are.
He did care about gender affirming care, he lost his son to it. Methinks he doth protest too much, something seems staged about it.
I’ve been thinking the same thing you don’t go from calling each other “good” person to this so fast. Seems like might be false flag.
If Elon is against it, where does that put the Democrats? Up until a few weeks ago, they were destroying everything Musk…now all of a sudden Musk is on the other side. Don’t buy it.
PsyOp.
Elon Musk is more MAGA than Trump is, and I support his call out that this Big Ass Bill will increase the debt. Any Democrat who wants to join him on that point is A+ in my book. Reducing the debt (and preserving our fiat currency wealth) is to me, is a core conservative value. I hope the GOP leadership, post-Trump is paying close attention. As this is a point that can split the new Populist party. Choose wisely.
Musk is not a politican. He has no control over DC or policy. He should keep in mind the swamp that worked overtime to destroy him.
I noticed house rep MT Greene is now also withdrawing her support of this Big Bill. On the grounds of language in bill that would limit States from regulating AI for 10 years. Good on her, too. Riddle me why States can’t regulate AI?
She should have read it more closely before voting for it. Let states regulate. We'll see what comes out of the Senate. This bill could be more back and forth than what we expect. What I am happy to see is that there is not a compliant straight line vote in favor of it.
Wasn't this beast 1,116 pages of yawndom? MTG can read? Also, little time - not sure exactly how much - was given to read this nonsense.
This comment is yawndom.
If it’s as Big & Beautiful as described there could be all kinds of stuff in there that isn’t (yet) public. Perhaps Elon’s rant provides some clearance for more to speak up. I hope so. I’m no fan of Big Bills for the reason that they always result in a larger, more expansive federal government. IMO, Trump is reading the room incorrectly by not pressing House to send forth individual bills that everyone can see and understand.
I'd prefer individual bills that specifically address the problematic spending/policies et al but Trump only has four years.
Exactly Jen.
This whole thing is unsettling at best, but I am honestly worried that the Dems trying to literally destroy him has taken a toll and he very well may be self-medicating. Maybe it's time for Mama Musk to peek in.
If I was Musk, I'd be pissed and disgusted that his efforts to eliminate bullshit spending was met with totally hysterical bullshit. I'm sure he got a very rude awaking as to how our sloppy government operates. It's very anti-smart from a business perspective. Regular people would be bankrupt if we spent our money like our government.
I agree. I listened to Ron Johnson (my senator) on an All In podcast special and he makes a lot of sense. He, too, came from owning his business prior to his senate run. I truly get what he's saying, and I think Trump would have been better at laying out a 5 year plan for bringing down the debt and deficit. I also must add that the effing judges who keep impeding the relocation of illegals and two wars that continue have consumed more time than Trump had anticipated. And on Elon's end, he has no idea how DC operates while Trump has already had a go at it.
Yes! And I'm definitely a fan of Ron Johnson. He knows what he's talking about.
We have Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson. We are as purple as purple can be.
So, the D party is going to side with a Nazi? Are you guys going to go buy your Teslas back?
I’m not D, and I don’t drive electric.
Whichever way the wind blows!
The D party wants even more spending. That is their problem with it.
AOC is on record publicly calling for $10T of spending. That is over a third of GDP on the Fed govt alone. Total govt spending might then exceed 50%. Can we say “Marxist society”?
I’ve noticed some online normy D’s calling out Trump for increasing debt. That’s likely just reflexive anti-Trump sentiment. But I welcome it on this point.
Of course, reflexive. Ds didn't give a shit about Biden's 4+ trillion dollar deficit increase in 2022. Student loan cancelation among the most egregious.
Jen, it’s been both D’s and R’s who have increased our fiat currency debt since 1972. Over and over. Bad shit happens to countries when their debt to GDP % ratio gets out of whack. I don’t want that coming to our shores.
Silver just hit a 13 year high. Gold prices also quite high (and has increased in value +175% in last decade)
I'm referring to the complete disinterest by Ds from the most recent 4 years. It's pretty rich to listen to people squawking about debt/deficits when billions of student debt was canceled at taxpayers expense. I believe at this point our debt exceeds our GDP. Divest yourself, good for gold and silver, they've never been worth nothing.
Yes, reflexive anti-Trump. I will send you a crisp $20 bill if any Dem crosses over and votes for the Budget bill as currently constructed. The Dems are all in for more spending and especially, more taxes. They are just fine letting the current tax cuts for the middle class, sunset. That is $5000 per family more in taxes on average and brings those with $40-50K of income into taxable income while right now they do not pay taxes. The Dems lie when they say the tax bill is a giveaway to the rich. No, it is relief for the poor. They will NEVER admit that
While I agree with Musk on the need to further cut spending and the debt, his childishness in dealing with the budget bill is over the top. Politics is a game of hundreds of Congressmen who all get a vote. On these tough bills, it only takes one or two votes the wrong way to blow up the bill. So the bills are delicately crafted to keep a majority on board. There is ZERO chance that Musk will get any Democrats to cross over and demand and then vote for more cuts. That is how any Dem will get primaried. Even John Fetterman is at risk. Kyrsten Sinema was primaried for her little bit of opposition on Dem votes. Musk does not understand the game and is used to getting his own way. He has the personality of a 10 year old
Yep. This isn't Elon v Trump. This is Elon v Trump, 100 senators and 535 members of Congress and a massively wide swath of voters.
This is Elon's Tesla board or his employees.
We are nearly $37 Trillion dollars in debt. The BBB included 1 trillion dollars for the "Department of Offense" and would add over 4-5 trillion to the deficit.
It’s not sustainable: https://lizlasorte.substack.com/p/americas-debt-clock-keeps-going-higher?r=76q58
I'm a 3x Trump voter. But I bitterly oppose Trump's call to permanently lift the debt ceiling. That's insane. And when your bedfellow in that action is Elizabeth Warren, you might want to pause and reconsider. Unlimited spending leads to diminishing the wealth of future generations, long after those choosing to do so are in the grave -- and therefore won't pay a price for their foolish ways. Gen X says 'enough' of this bullshit!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gZxD2CZ3IOg
From Rand Paul, Trump thinks the debt ceiling discussion gets blamed on him, so he wants to stop having it. Not a good plan IMHO. The R party is being dumb because everything they do in the BBB will be "old news" in 6 months. They should do some cutting RIGHT NOW.
Rand Paul voted on $599 million spending bills that favored him under Biden.
$600M over 4 years ain’t much, if one wants to pick cherries.
Jesus, really? I kinda like Rand Paul, but I guess they’re all the same…
Paul and Massie. Becoming the next McConnell-Murkowski. 2 really big disappointments.
Massie is a bit of a soothsayer:
https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1930716252042846561
Well said!
I just want everyone to keep this energy when a democrat is President. Because no one seemed to care about the spending under Biden. Or the fact that we would spend more and raise taxes under Harris.
If Trump was really in the Epstein files the Dems would have already leaked it, duh!
Elon needs Trump way more than Trump needs Elon. Elon already said that he was fine with the EV rebates going away, now he changes his tune? He knew all along they were going away, as they should.
MAGA people don’t care about Elon if he’s not on board with MAGA. His motives are not our motives.
So true. Dems would have leaked anything detrimental if found. Trump’s not in EF or it would have been exposed.
When there’s a news story these days, it’s more important what’s *not* said than what is said.
**Pure** **speculation** why Team D **might** not have rushed to make this information public:
1. Because various Team D bigwigs (see, e.g., Clinton, Bill) or other important people also merited special Epstein files attention; and/or
2. Because releasing this information might make it public that Epstein was working on behalf of Israel.
1. Very possible, but if they had this info before the election they would have used it. The fact they didn’t use it tells me that they didn’t have it. Dems usually don’t care about collateral damage and there’s many Dems who don’t like the Clintons.
2. Also very possible, but there’s enough people in power that hate Israel that would have released this info if they really had it.
Great point though.
I am sure a lot of people in power hate Israel but fear its power, and if you think that Epstein is the only one who had interesting secrets about Serious and Important People...
Something similar could be said about Clinton, who is notoriously vengeful.
My experience is that what is reported has little to do with what is actually happening. No telling.
A lot of misdirection for sure
Anyone who didn’t think that DJT was in the Epstein files has been lying to themselves.
I don't. Pedos are a special kind of evil and Trump's not a pedo.
That said, if Musk has the list, maybe he should post on X. Or could it be he doesn't and will get sued if he were to do such a thing.
Look at Trump's hostory with Epstein, his pageants, his infidelity with a porn actress, his creepy comments about his daughter and women in general, his lying and narcissism and lifelong avoidance of accountability. I'd bet anything that he's been in bed with a minor.
MAGA doesn't care--just more to trigger the libtards with.
I bet it’s Melania in the Epstein files..
At the end, it is always about the money. I’ll wait for the fog to clear and try not to get emotionally involved in this collision and the other geopolitical conflicts getting more complicated.
So normie of you Barry....appreciate that.
I still think Elon Musk makes the world a better place, as does Donald Trump.
After a few news cycles, this will be "old news".
The usual hysteria over the usual nothing.
Two ridiculous man babies. Hilariousness!
Best comment of the day.
Why has no one published a 50 year plan to get our sovereign debt under control? Could we imagine such a thing where we reduce spending by 2% per year and pay capital of 2% per year on the national debt? How come no one in congress has proposed such a thing? If we made sure that everyone was reading by 4th grade, our nation would have additional prosperity. Today there are over 30 Illinois schools without a single student doing math or reading at grade level. Let's migrate states and the nation to defined contribution pensions instead of defined benefit packages. Doing that will make this country great again.
Nobody wants reasonable.
The democrats want to spend without looking at the price tag.
The republicans want to give tax cuts to people who are too rich to spend it while taking a chainsaw to valuable public goods but preserving pork to their own districts.
Both sides want to hurl blame when the results suck.
Absolutely nobody behaves with any sense of responsibility.
Based on my recent experience lobbying in DC in May, most in congress think of the federal government as a cookie jar, on both sides of the aisle, but we need them to keep state financial obligations, state financial obligations. Amazing how we didn't have a federal piggy bank before we enacted a federal income tax just prior to WW1.
If we can’t do something as basic and essential as maintain functional public schools what can we maintain? I most surely do blame this on the democrats and their equity poison. This is an impossible situation.
Bill Maher on Kamala Harris and Chicago public schools.
“Chicago Teachers Union: Tests are racist.” (2 min)
Illinois Policy. Oct 28, 2024
https://youtu.be/xp1DsUDCj1Q?si=cNST9rE_WvM_5qRw
“Maybe We Should Stop Calling Them Schools.”
Real Clear Education. Mar 26, 2025
https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2025/03/26/maybe_we_should_stop_calling_them_schools_1100065.html
Essential education has been undermined to keep kids stupid and lacking the ability to thinking logically. This was by design. I look forward to Linda McMahon putting the strangle hold on the Department of Ed. You know what? Learning is free. All it requires is a library card at least. We've become a culture that can't read past a headline and most people don't care. Mediocrity has become the high standard of most everything.
Never, ever, EVER believe our Mark Burnett trained, Apprentice story line crafting reality TV star POTUS isn’t co-engineering a plot line for our Omarosa-Elon villain. Remember, Trump runs a WWF-Kayfabe kabuki theater presidency with heels and baby faces. His friend Vince McMahon taught him this. His Secretary of Education reminds him of this. It’s the show baby!
Elon needs some redemption in the public eye. A spat, playing out on TV like Hulk Hogan turning on Macho Man Randy Savage, now endears Musk again to his liberal EV crowd - the sworn enemies of Evil Mr. McMahon. Perhaps now they’ll stop tossing Molotov cocktails at his dealerships as he’s welcomed back to the Trump hating resistance.
Conspiracy? Yes. But Trump is a TV President more skilled at manipulating plot lines and whipsawing viewer emotions than anything we’ve ever seen. He plays 4-D chess in emotional predation. We’re the suckers who lap it up in the VIP seats at Wrestlemania.
This is Kayfabe 101. They hatched it together.
Yeah, I'm thinking this is the fakest feud of fake feuds. Consider what each gains from it:
Elon needs Tesla and X boycots to end
Trump needs distraction from complicated foreign situation (wars, tariffs, deals yes no maybe) and B3 infighting
If you can't give them bread, give them circus. This is circus. Nothing conspirational about it. Just the political tricks as old as time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe
Exactly
Gotta have a heel. At the end of the day, most heels are only heels for effect. Could this be more chum for fools? Throw out a juicy bucket and watch the predators and bottom feeders swarm. As they're swarming, Trump's busy with more pressing matters unhindered by media/congressional sad sacks.
Exactly. Watch “Mr. McMahon” on Netflix. Trump is Vince McMahon. But his Wrestlemania is US politics. He choreographs the storylines. He controls the story arcs. Just as he did on The Apprentice. He understands this is all “The Show”. This is why he meets world leaders on live TV. They just haven’t been let in on the Kayfabe underworld yet. This is distraction and a way for Elon to flip the script.
I'm a bit of a wrestling junky as us kids had only a handful of channels to watch back in the day. "Mr. McMahon" was a great watch to see all the behind the scenes, down and dirty, ruthless opperating. I think Linda McMahon was the true brains behind their success. The perception always has to be willing to pivot to keep the show rolling. Trump absolutely understands this.
Maybe if Don Jr and Eric or others in the very inner circle don't pipe in, we can conclude this is Kayfabe. Otherwise, not so sure it's not a classic clash of titans.
Right. Could be.
I could have believed something like this, but Musk has a long history of not giving a shit what people think of him and I'm not so sure Trump would be all in on a plan that involved Musk accusing him of being an Epstein client. What self respecting person would play games with implicating themselves in pedophilia?
It doesn't have to be orchestrated between them but Trump is definitely using it to pause WW3 cause now everyone is watching this keyboard fight. Originally, the plan was to ignore Musk but than Trump chose the moment to respond knowing it would escalate the whole thing and everything he does or doesn't is always for a reason. The world is mesmerized by this like he knew it would be so one has to wonder what he doesn't want a focus on. And I think he's safe as far as Epstein goes. it's guilty by association rather than guilty guilty. There's hardly a Washington or a Hollywood figure that didn't know the guy and didn't appear in the files. So yeah, this is a controlled distraction by design that could have been killed quickly if only 1 side was raging and rampaging.
It’s weird. Our times are weird. Not positive about anything! 😬
I think you have this backward - Trump is having the hissy fit and threatening to cancel Space X contracts. Boeing to the rescue? Basically would hand China space supremacy. As self-destructive as Democrats are - embracing the neo-Nazi Jew-hating left - never under-estimate the ability of the GOP to out-do them in that department.
But the national debt is the single largest threat facing our nation now, and Democrats are constitutionally incapable of dealing with it.
We can thank the Biden administration and the Dems for most of the financial mess we are in now. I’d like to trust that Trump and Bessent know what they are doing. We can’t continue down this road any longer. Truly a cluster…
Trump added $8.18 trillion to the debt in his first term. He doesn't care about it at all. Guy just babbles whatever he thinks people want to hear and his supporters believe it.
I agree, but I’ve also read that the debt is near impossible to pay off, and the country could not function without raising the ceiling. It’s definitely a clusterf#*k.
Of course it could function. We did okay in the 1980s with a third of the bureaucracy we now have Those who claim we can't cut spending are the ones on the receiving end of said spending.
Yeah idk, I was just referring to something I read a congressperson say (I think it was Rand Paul?)
We can cut spending but this ain't the 80s. Wars alone are fought very differently.
If someone called me a pedo I would cancel their contracts, pronto.
But Trump gave Musk access to every part of every federal database, so if Musk wanted the unredacted files, Musk has them. Trump knows this. I don't see Trump calling out Musk and daring him to release whatever he has.
I voted for Trump but am hugely disappointed that he is betraying Americans and MAGA by 1) arming Israel Zionist genocide of Palestinians, 2) putting forth a huge deficit spending bill, 3) censoring free speech on college campuses and elsewhere. 4) still funding the Zionist Zelensky.
There will be peace when they love their own children more than they hate the Jews. Seems you have a long way to go in that department.
When the ideology says, "death to Israel, death to the west", I believe them. After 911, only an idiot couldn't understand their commitment and obsession with death and destruction for everyone that doesn't comply with radical Islam. Their own people are willing fodder for their effort.
Exactly! Just look at what the muzzles have been doing to destroy Europe. Calling Israel genocidal is gaslighting and propaganda.
I am guilty of opposing genocide.
If only the Palestinians were also opposed to it!
If the "genocide people" gave a damn, they'd be demanding a democratic vote and the elimination of Hamas's squandering of aid and refusal to invest in the success of Gaza. I've not heard that yet. Very easy to blame someone or something else for shit policies and shit results. Of course, when death and destruction is the only agenda...it's hard to have empathy.
Of course. That’s why 3 of your 4 points are anti-Israel. Anti-Zionist is a really poor cover.
It’s because I prioritize opposition to genocide; especially funding it.
I’m sorry Libertarian but I have read too many of your comments. I don’t buy it for a minute. You can cloak your beliefs in whatever makes you feel righteous. But that cloak doesn’t change the truth.
Truth is Israel committed Ethnic Cleansing via genocide and starvation of millions. I wish you would admit the truth so that we could save as many innocent women and children as possible.
That’s why you had to identify Zelensky as a Jew, right?
Jude, I said he was a Zionist. I didn’t say he was a Jew. Many Jews are not Zionists; I think you know this.
Virtue-signaling costs lives.
Actually, Zionists have killed over 54,000 women and children via the genocide they committed; virtue signaling isn’t that lethal.
Well then, you were probably very upset about Nov 7, 2023, right?? 🤔🤔
Hamas started the war. Don't start something you can't finish. FAFO.
It’s not a war; it’s a genocide that Israel started and has committed for the last few years now. I was sorry that Israelis died on 7Oct. That event in no way justifies Zionists killing over 54,000 innocent women and children, maiming over 100,000 and making homeless and starving over 1,000,000 civilians.
There was peace on Nov. 6, and there had been for several years.
Hamas starts a war, and Israel is guilty? I think not.
Kill civilians, behead babies, rape women? Hamas is despicable.
Start a war, pay the price.
Zionists committed genocide; it’s not war.
Amen, Jude!
YEP!
There has never been a genocide of Palestinian people
The people in Gaza are victims of Hamas - who they voted for!
Wrong; Zionists have killed over 54,000 women and children, maimed over 100,000, and made homeless and are starving over 1,000,000. That’s a genocide and hundreds of millions of informed and objective people agree with that conclusion and definition.
No, Hamas did that and blames Israel
Hamas are human garbage and so are their supporters
I’m with you. Sasha is still all in on Trump but I’m not liking alot of the things I’m seeing.
Oh shit, you said disappointed. What are you? A big baby?
Yea. Ya know, me being the 9th of 10 poor Irish Catholic kids in Philly, where 4 of my brothers and I served active duty US military, made me a big baby. You might not now that because you didn’t grow up on a big poor family and serve active duty though.
You do know that the Jews are just a warm up, don't you? Look at what the Muzzies are up to in Europe. Do you really think they're a religion of peace? In addition, they're murdering Christians all over the world. When they get done with the American Jews, you're next. Wise up before it's too late.
The Europeans are committing suicide. We would be wise to look at their demise and learning something from it, not just repeating it.
Seems like you are very racist and an anti-Muslim in the same way you accuse others of being anti-Semite when they criticize Zionists for having committed genocide this year.
Trump could have taken the easy path with Elon & left the EV mandate in the BBB just to placate him. He didn’t & I give Trump credit for that. Read up on the plan for recission bills coming that will codify doge cuts & cut spending. Only non discretionary spending can be in the BBB. Sending recessions packages to congress to vote on for the discretionary stuff will only require a simple majority to pass. We’ll see…
Thanks for pointing this out about the cuts and how to do it.