Topline
Former President Donald Trump signaled his willingness to offer Elon Musk a role in his administration in a proposed “government efficiency commission” if he wins the presidential election in November, during a live chat on Musk’s X platform on Monday night that was marred by technical glitches.
Former President Donald Trump enthusiastically backed the idea of Musk joining a "Government ... [+]
Key Facts
The interview on X Spaces focused on the recent assassination attempt against Trump and his complaints about immigration, while offering little details about Trump’s plans for a second term if he won.
One of the policy topics raised by Musk was his idea of creating a “government efficiency commission” that would ensure “taxpayers money…is spent in a good way”—something the billionaire has spoken about previously.
Musk added he would be “happy to help out on such a commission,” prompting an enthusiastic response from Trump, who said he’d “love” it.
Although Musk did not specifically mention cutting government jobs, during the interview both he and Trump criticized government “overspending.”
Trump then used the example of cuts to the state made by Argentinian President Javier Milei, saying he “ran on MAGA and I hear he is doing really terrific;” Milei, who has expressed fondness towards Trump, announced plans earlier this year to slash 24,000 government jobs in a move that sparked nationwide protests in Argentina.
Trump reiterated his plan to shut down the Department of Education if elected, saying he wants to “move education back to the states” and adding that he believes at least 35 of the 50 states “would do great” in such a scenario.
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Crucial Quote
After hailing Musk as the “greatest cutter,” Trump said: “You walk in, you just say ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike—I won't mention the name of the company—but they go on strike. And you say: ‘That's okay, you’re all gone.’” Trump appeared to be referencing jobs cuts at Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York, last February.
Key Background
Musk raised the idea of a government efficiency commission in an interview with podcast host Lex Fridman earlier this month. When Fridman said he wished Musk “could go into Washington for a week and be the head of the committee for making government smaller,” the billionaire said he has “discussed with Trump the idea of a government efficiency commission, and I would be willing to be part of that commission.” When asked how hard such an operation would be, Musk said: “The antibody reaction would be very strong. You’re attacking the Matrix at that point. The Matrix will fight back.”
Tangent
Musk and Trump’s discussion was marred by several technical glitches that delayed its start by nearly 45 minutes. When users tried to access the chat’s audio streaming link shared on Trump’s X account, they were met with a “details not available” message. Users who had managed to access the X Spaces link were greeted with hold music. Musk blamed the disruption on a “massive DDOS [distributed denial of service] attack on X.” However, no verified evidence of such an attack has emerged yet and the rest of the website remained accessible at the time.
Further Reading
Musk-Trump X Interview: Trump Takes Friendly Questions From Musk After Glitch-Plagued Start (Forbes)
