Elon Musk clashes with CBS reporter over Trump policies

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Elon Musk got prickly when asked by CBS about one of President Donald Trump's most controversial policies. Musk, who attended an official going away ceremony in the Oval Office on Friday, had been interviewed Tuesday at SpaceX 's headquarters outside of Brownsville, Texas - with the full sit-down released on Sunday.
CBS' David Pogue first queried Musk on whether his businesses had been impacted by President Donald Trump's tariffs and then asked the South African-born Musk if he supported Trump's attempts to ban foreign students. 'Yeah. I mean, I think we wanna stick to, you know, the subject of the day, which is, like, spaceships, as opposed to, you know, presidential policy,' Musk responded. Pogue, who was conducting the interview for CBS Sunday Morning, pushed backing telling the billionaire that he had been told 'anything is good' as far as an interview subject. 'No, well - no,' Musk replied.
But throughout the sit-down, Musk complained that DOGE became blamed for anything unpopular the Trump Administration was doing. 'Yeah, I think … what was starting to happen was that, like, it's a bit unfair because, like, DOGE became the whipping boy for everything,' Musk said. 'So, if there was some cut, real or imagined, everyone would blame DOGE. I've had people think that, like, somehow DOGE is gonna stop them from getting their Social Security check, which is completely untrue,' he continued.
Pogue asked if Silicon Valley's mantra of 'move fast and break things 'really works 'before you really understand what the agency does?' Musk answered that 'it depends on where you're coming from.' The billionaire, who funneled $288 million to help get Trump elected in 2024, said he was ideologically a proponent of small government.
'So, now if somebody's a proponent of, you know, more government programs and bigger government, and they see, "Hey, DOGE is cutting all these government programs," then they'll be fundamentally opposed to that because they just think the government should do more things,' he said. 'That's just a fundamental, I guess, ideological opinion. But my frank opinion of the government is that, like, the government is just, like, the DMV that got big, OK? So, when you say it like, "Let's have the government do something," you should think, "Do you want the DMV to do it?"' Musk mused.
Pogue pointed out when the interview aired that Musk started speaking out about his differences with the Trump Administration unprompted. 'And you know, it's not like I agree with everything the administration does,' Musk revealed. 'So it's like, I mean, I agree with much of what the administration does. But we have differences of opinion. You know, there are things that I don't entirely agree with. But it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention,' he continued. 'So then, I'm a little stuck in a bind, where I'm like, well, I don't wanna, you know, speak up against the administration, but I also don't wanna take responsibility for everything this administration's doing,' the billionaire added.
In a clip that aired Tuesday ahead of Sunday's full interview, Musk was heard complaining about Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' and how it basically erases the cost-savings he says DOGE is responsible for. Musk said 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it could be both.' That criticism irritated some in Trumpworld and by Wednesday, Musk was announcing that his time in Washington, D.C. was coming to an end.