Whoopi Goldberg Lays Into Elon Musk For Criticizing Trump's 'Big' Bill: 'Now Suddenly You Woke Up?'
Whoopi Goldberg has accused Elon Musk of "destroying people's lives" after the billionaire blasted the President Donald Trump-led administration over the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
Musk called the bill a "disgusting abomination," explaining that it will cause a massive increase in the already gigantic budget deficit. However, Goldberg doesn't buy into it because of the "damage" he did.
Whoopi Goldberg also commented on Trump and Musk's relationship dynamics, saying she thinks the president is still "scared" of Musk even after he left his role at the Department of Government Efficiency.
Goldberg has lashed out at Musk after he took to his social media platform X to unleash a scathing criticism of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill.
The actress accused Musk of "destroying people's lives" via his role at the Department of Government Efficiency, as he spent the last six months conducting mass layoffs in the federal government.
The pointed remark came during a Hot Topics discussion on Wednesday's episode of "The View," where Goldberg and her co-hosts dissected Musk's rant against Trump's bill.
"I do wonder why Elon thinks people are gonna listen to him again because he just spent several months destroying people's lives," Goldberg said, per Decider. "Now suddenly you woke up? You came out [of] your fog?"
Co-host Sunny Hostin took it a bit further to show just how much "damage" Musk caused, explaining that he was only able to slash "less than 1%" of the $7 trillion budget, despite his initial promises to cut it by $2 trillion.
"The damage that he did was just really incredible," she continued. "He slashed 250,000 federal employees, more than 8,500 contracts, more than 10,000 grants, and his cutbacks on medical research — the foreign aid — cost 300,000 lives, mostly children. That's the damage that Elon Musk did, so I don't think that anyone should be listening to him about anything."
Musk recently took to X to slam the bill, which was passed last month, labeling it a "disgusting abomination" as it threatens to increase the budget deficit.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk wrote on X, per The Blast. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination."
"Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it," Musk noted, adding that the bill "will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America [sic] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt."
In a third post, the SpaceX boss decried how "Congress is making America bankrupt."
Amid speculations suggesting Trump's relationship with Musk has become strained, Goldberg and Joy Behar weighed in on their relationship dynamics, saying they think the billionaire politician is "scared" of the tech mogul as he's yet to respond.
Invoking her newly-launched nickname for Trump, "Taco D," Goldberg said: "Well, President Taco D has yet to respond. And I do wonder why Elon thinks people are going to listen now to him because he just spent several months destroying people's lives."
Behar then noted how Musk has high favorability with Trump supporters, saying the tech boss is "hurting Trump in a way." Sara Haines then attempted to explain Musk's reaction to the bill, saying he seemed to have hit a "flash point" and was now questioning the importance of all he'd done with DOGE.
The ladies took turns to share their reactions before Goldberg and Behar stated that Trump was "scared" of Musk.
"Elon knows the 411 on everything," Goldberg said. "He knows how all this connects… So now suddenly, he's like, 'Harrumph!'"
"Trump should be afraid of him," Behar noted. "He has the receipts on the election."
"I think he is afraid of him," Goldberg agreed.
Goldberg's critique of Musk and Trump comes amid reports that ABC executives want her and the other co-hosts of "The View" to "tone down" their political commentary and focus more on pop culture sessions.
Sources close to the situation told The Daily Beast that the network's top executives, including Disney CEO Bob Iger and ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic, have expressed concern about the ladies' constant focus on Trump and politics.
Karamehmedovic, in particular, reportedly held a meeting with "The View" executive producer Brian Teta and its hosts, where he encouraged them to focus more on their highly rated episodes, which feature celebrities.
Musk's stance on the "One Big Beautiful" bill has allegedly strained his relationship with Trump amid reports he still owes the president $100 million out of the $300 million he committed to see him reelected.
According to The Wall Street Journal, he has paused the inflow of checks and was unhappy after learning of a meeting between Trump and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who happens to be one of his most reviled enemies.
Musk previously shared how his role at DOGE was undermined by some of Trump's officials, and how his efforts to reduce government spending were never taken seriously.
He has frequently clashed with key Trump appointees and was reportedly furious about the president's plans to roll out extreme tariffs, which have caused endless chaos for the global economy.
However, Trump has maintained that his relationship with Musk is as healthy as ever.
"Elon is not really leaving," he said during Musk's send-off party last week. "He's going to be back and forth."
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The Hill
26 minutes ago
- The Hill
Musk could lose billions of dollars depending on how spat with Trump unfolds
NEW YORK (AP) — The world's richest man could lose billions in his fight with world's most powerful politician. The feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump could mean Tesla's plans for self-driving cars hit a roadblock, SpaceX flies fewer missions for NASA, Starlink gets fewer overseas satellite contracts and the social media platform X loses advertisers. Maybe, that is. It all depends on Trump's appetite for revenge and how the dispute unfolds. Joked Telemetry Insight auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid, 'Since Trump has no history of retaliating against perceived adversaries, he'll probably just let this pass.' Turning serious, he sees trouble ahead for Musk. 'For someone that rants so much about government pork, all of Elon's businesses are extremely dependent on government largesse, which makes him vulnerable.' Trump and the federal government also stand to lose from a long-running dispute, but not as much as Musk. The dispute comes just a week before a planned test of Tesla's driverless taxis in Austin, Texas, a major event for the company because sales of its EVs are lagging in many markets, and Musk needs a win. Trump can mess things up for Tesla by encouraging federal safety regulators to step in at any sign of trouble for the robotaxis. Even before the war of words broke out on Thursday, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration requested data on how Musk's driverless, autonomous taxis will perform in low-visibility conditions. That request follows an investigation last year into 2.4 million Teslas equipped with full self-driving software after several accidents, including one that killed a pedestrian. A spokesman for NHTSA said the probe was ongoing and that the agency 'will take any necessary actions to protect road safety.' The Department of Justice has also probed the safety of Tesla cars, but the status of that investigation is unclear. The DOJ did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The promise of a self-driving future led by Tesla inspired shareholders to boost the stock by 50% in the weeks after Musk confirmed the Austin rollout. But on Thursday, the stock plunged more than 14% amid the Trump-Musk standoff. On Friday, it recovered a bit, bouncing back nearly 4%. 'Tesla's recent rise was almost entirely driven by robotaxi enthusiasm,' said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein. 'Elon's feud with Trump could be a negative.' One often-overlooked but important part of Tesla's business that could take a hit is its sales of carbon credits. As Musk and Trump were slugging it out Thursday, Republican senators inserted new language into Trump's budget bill that would eliminate fines for gas-powered cars that fall short of fuel economy standards. Tesla has a thriving side business selling 'regulatory credits' to other automakers to make up for their shortfalls. Musk has downplayed the importance of the credits business, but the changes would hurt Tesla as it reels from boycotts of its cars tied to Musk's time working for Trump. Credit sales jumped by a third to $595 million in the first three months of the year even as total revenue slumped. Musk's foray into right-wing politics cost Tesla sales among the environmentally minded consumers who embraced electric cars and led to boycotts of Tesla showrooms. If Musk has indeed ended his close association with Trump, those buyers could come back, but that's far from certain. Meanwhile, one analyst speculated earlier this year that Trump voters in so-called red counties could buy Teslas 'in a meaningful way.' But he's now less hopeful. 'There are more questions than answers following Thursday developments,' TD Cowen's Itay Michaeli wrote in his latest report, 'and it's still too early to determine any lasting impacts.' Michaeli's stock target for Tesla earlier this year was $388. He has since lowered it to $330. Tesla was trading Friday at $300. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Trump said Thursday that he could cut government contracts to Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, a massive threat to a company that has received billions of federal dollars. The privately held company that is reportedly worth $350 billion provides launches, sends astronauts into space for NASA and has a contract to send a team from the space agency to the moon next year. But if Musk has a lot to lose, so does the U.S. SpaceX is the only U.S. company capable of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules. The other alternative is politically dicey: depending wholly on Russia's Soyuz capsules. Musk knew all this when he shot back at Trump that SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft. But it is unclear how serious his threat was. Several hours later — in a reply to another X user — he said he wouldn't do it. A subsidiary of SpaceX, the satellite internet company Starlink, appears to also have benefited from Musk's once-close relationship with the president. Musk announced that Saudi Arabia had approved Starlink for some services during a trip with Trump in the Middle East last month. The company has also won a string of other recent deals in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and elsewhere as Trump has threatened tariffs. It's not clear how much politics played a role, and how much is pure business. On Friday, The Associated Press confirmed that India had approved a key license to Starlink. At least 40% of India's more than 1.4 billion people have no access to the internet. Big advertisers that fled X after Musk welcomed all manner of conspiracy theories to the social media platform have started to trickle back in recent months, possibly out of fear of a conservative backlash. Musk has called their decision to leave an 'illegal boycott' and sued them, and the Trump administration recently weighed in with a Federal Trade Commission probe into possible coordination among them. Now advertisers may have to worry about a different danger. If Trump sours on X, 'there's a risk that it could again become politically radioactive for major brands,' said Sarah Kreps, a political scientist at Cornell University. She added, though, that an 'exodus isn't obvious, and it would depend heavily on how the conflict escalates, how long it lasts and how it ends.' ___ Associated Press Writer Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco contributed to this report.


Boston Globe
30 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Buildup to a meltdown: How the Trump-Musk alliance collapsed
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He said his friend Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur who was set to become the next NASA administrator, cared about getting things done. Yes, he had donated to Democrats, but so had a lot of people. Advertisement Maybe it's a good thing, Musk told the president — it shows that you're willing to hire people of all stripes. But Trump was unmoved. He said that people don't change. These are the types of people who will turn, he said, and it won't end up being good for us. Advertisement Musk was anxious about mounting a vigorous defense of Isaacman with other people around, including Sergio Gor, director of the presidential personnel office who has clashed with Musk over nominees. Musk believed that he would be able to talk to the president after the gathering, privately. 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San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Supreme Court allows DOGE team to access Social Security systems with data on millions of Americans
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration two victories Friday in cases involving the Department of Government Efficiency, including giving it access to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans. The justices also separately reined in orders seeking transparency at DOGE, the team once led by billionaire Elon Musk. The court's conservative majority sided with the Trump administration in the first Supreme Court appeals involving DOGE. The three liberal justices dissented in both cases. The DOGE victories come amid a messy breakup between the president and the world's richest man that started shortly after Musk's departure from the White House and has included threats to cut government contracts and a call for the president to be impeached. The future of DOGE's work isn't clear without Musk at the helm, but both men have previously said that it will continue its efforts. In one case, the high court halted an order from a judge in Maryland that has restricted the team's access to the Social Security Administration under federal privacy laws. 'We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,' the court said in an unsigned order. Conservative lower-court judges have said there's no evidence at this point of DOGE mishandling personal information. The agency holds sensitive data on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, salary details and medical information. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court's action creates 'grave privacy risks' for millions of Americans by giving 'unfettered data access to DOGE regardless — despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards, and all before we know for sure whether federal law countenances such access.' Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined Jackson's opinion and Justice Elena Kagan said she also would have ruled against the administration. The Trump administration says DOGE needs the access to carry out its mission of targeting waste in the federal government. Musk had been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud. The entrepreneur has described it as a ' Ponzi scheme ' and insisted that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending. But U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland found that DOGE's efforts at Social Security amounted to a 'fishing expedition' based on 'little more than suspicion' of fraud, and allowing unfettered access puts Americans' private information at risk. Her ruling did allow access to anonymous data for staffers who have undergone training and background checks, or wider access for those who have detailed a specific need. The Trump administration has said DOGE can't work effectively with those restrictions. Solicitor General D. John Sauer also argued that the ruling is an example of federal judges overstepping their authority and trying to micromanage executive branch agencies. The plaintiffs say it's a narrow order that's urgently needed to protect personal information. An appeals court previously refused to immediately to lift the block on DOGE access, though it split along ideological lines. Conservative judges in the minority said there's no evidence that the team has done any 'targeted snooping' or exposed personal information. The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of labor unions and retirees represented by the group Democracy Forward. It's one of more than two dozen lawsuits filed over DOGE's work, which has included deep cuts at federal agencies and large-scale layoffs. The nation's court system has been ground zero for pushback to President Donald Trump's sweeping conservative agenda, with about 200 lawsuits filed challenging policies on everything from immigration to education to mass layoffs of federal workers. In the other DOGE order handed down Friday, the justices extended a pause on orders that would require the team to publicly disclose information about its operations, as part of a lawsuit filed by a government watchdog group. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington argues that DOGE, which has been central to Trump's push to remake the government, is a federal agency and must be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. But the Trump administration says DOGE is just a presidential advisory body aimed at government cost-cutting, which would make it exempt from requests for documents under FOIA. The justices did not decide that issue Friday, but the conservative majority held that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled too broadly in ordering documents be turned over to CREW.