‘Fast lane to debt slavery': Musk intensifies Trump sledge
Elon Musk has escalated his attacks on President Donald Trump's controversial spending bill, urging Congress to scrap the current proposal and draft a new one that does not 'massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS.'
Mr Musk, who stepped down from his White House cost-cutting post just days ago, took to his X platform to voice his concerns.
'A new spending bill should be drafted that doesn't massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS,' he wrote, repeating his warning that 'America is in the fast lane to debt slavery.'
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His latest comments follow a string of social media posts in which Mr Musk has called the bill a 'disgusting abomination' and accused lawmakers of supporting a 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.'
'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,' Mr Musk posted earlier this week.
The spending package, which narrowly passed the House and is now before the Senate, would extend and expand tax cuts, boost deductions for state and local taxes, and introduce new breaks for tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits.
It also includes funding for border security, defence, and farm support, while cutting green-energy tax credits, Medicaid, and food assistance.
Critics like Mr Musk and Senator Rand Paul argue the bill's $5 trillion debt ceiling increase will add to the federal deficit and put future generations at risk. Supporters, including US President Donald Trump, claim the tax cuts will drive economic growth and eventually offset the fiscal gap.
Mr Musk's opposition comes after he led a federal cost-cutting team and repeatedly warned that the bill's projected $2.4 trillion increase to the deficit would 'undermine' efforts to rein in government spending.
Despite his departure from the administration, Mr Musk's high-profile criticism continues to fuel debate as the Senate considers amendments to the bill before sending it back to the House.
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Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Musk used X to boost Trump. Now he's wielding it against him
Thursday's online drama underscored that while Musk's stewardship of X made it into a powerful tool for his allies and the conservative movement, he feels free to wrench it in whatever new direction he pleases. When he acquired Twitter, Musk drove some users and advertisers away from the platform by putting his personal views ahead of business concerns, loosening speech rules and reinstating accounts banned for harassment or spreading misinformation. His fight with Trump proved again that he is willing to risk an exodus of users – this time from the right – by using the platform as a bully pulpit. Trump commands an actual military, but Musk oversees the larger digital horde. He has 220 million X followers, while Trump has 100 million on X and another 10 million on Truth Social, where he has lately become more prolific than he ever was on Twitter. Musk also controls X's moderation policies and its algorithm, both of which he has used at times to boost his own reach and silence his critics. Musk's power to direct attention on X has helped drive the emergence of an ecosystem of pseudonymous conservative political and tech influencers. Many have built followings in the millions on X by praising Musk, denigrating his rivals and trumpeting his agenda. They've been rewarded with amplification from Musk and a cut of X's ad revenue. All those advantages were arrayed in Trump's favour after Musk endorsed his candidacy on X less than an hour after Trump survived an attempted assassination in July. Musk donned a MAGA hat in his profile image, held an hours-long live audio event on X with Trump and posted fake AI-generated images of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in communist regalia. On more than one occasion, pro-Harris accounts found themselves throttled or temporarily suspended, leading some Democrats to cry foul. As Musk's 'DOGE', or Department of Government Efficiency, swept through Washington in February at Trump's behest, X became a digital command centre of the new administration. Musk used it to amplify claims of waste and corruption, some of them unfounded, at the agencies and programs he targeted for elimination. He baited critics with memes of himself as the Godfather and polled his followers on what DOGE should cut next. Now it's Trump that Musk is trolling, after ending his government service a long way short of his stated goal of cutting $US2 trillion in federal spending. He sent warning shots on Tuesday, calling Trump's massive tax and immigration bill – the president's top domestic priority – a 'disgusting abomination'. The conflict escalated in a hurry on Thursday after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his 'great relationship' with Musk might be over. Over the following hours, Musk accused Trump and other Republican leaders of betraying their principles and approvingly reposted criticisms of them from other accounts. That can have ripple effects across X as users vie to craft posts that will win a reply or amplification from Musk that can boost their own followings. At one point, Musk posted a poll asking his 220 million followers if it was time to 'create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80 per cent in the middle'. Six hours into the 24-hour poll, the votes leaned heavily toward 'Yes'. Traffic to X surely spiked on Thursday as political and tech insiders became glued to the conflict and citizens were left to wonder what it meant for the world's richest person to be at war with its most politically powerful. How the feud will affect Musk's influence and business empire is less certain. Loading Tesla and SpaceX, his most valuable companies, depend heavily on government regulation and contracts, making them vulnerable to attacks by Trump and his administration. Tesla stock fell on Thursday as investors appeared to fear retribution. Public spats between influencers are great for engagement on social platforms. But if the acrimony continues, Musk may have to reckon again with an exodus of users repelled by his politics. His embrace of Trump sent liberals scurrying to Meta's Threads and upstart Bluesky. His split with the president could give Trump an opening to lure more conservatives to Truth Social. On Thursday, some X influencers appeared to have calculated they had better prospects by sticking with Musk. An account called DogeDesigner with 41 million followers posted that Musk 'sacrificed a lot for Trump' and deserved better treatment. Just last week, Musk had sent it a heart emoji for a post promoting his alliance with the president. Another account called Shibetoshi Nakamoto mused, 'can i finally say that trump's tariffs are super stupid'. In a battle between Musk and Trump, 'My money's on Elon,' conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote, adding that 'Trump should be impeached and [US vice president] J.D. Vance should replace him.'
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Musk used X to boost Trump. Now he's wielding it against him
Thursday's online drama underscored that while Musk's stewardship of X made it into a powerful tool for his allies and the conservative movement, he feels free to wrench it in whatever new direction he pleases. When he acquired Twitter, Musk drove some users and advertisers away from the platform by putting his personal views ahead of business concerns, loosening speech rules and reinstating accounts banned for harassment or spreading misinformation. His fight with Trump proved again that he is willing to risk an exodus of users – this time from the right – by using the platform as a bully pulpit. Trump commands an actual military, but Musk oversees the larger digital horde. He has 220 million X followers, while Trump has 100 million on X and another 10 million on Truth Social, where he has lately become more prolific than he ever was on Twitter. Musk also controls X's moderation policies and its algorithm, both of which he has used at times to boost his own reach and silence his critics. Musk's power to direct attention on X has helped drive the emergence of an ecosystem of pseudonymous conservative political and tech influencers. Many have built followings in the millions on X by praising Musk, denigrating his rivals and trumpeting his agenda. They've been rewarded with amplification from Musk and a cut of X's ad revenue. All those advantages were arrayed in Trump's favour after Musk endorsed his candidacy on X less than an hour after Trump survived an attempted assassination in July. Musk donned a MAGA hat in his profile image, held an hours-long live audio event on X with Trump and posted fake AI-generated images of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in communist regalia. On more than one occasion, pro-Harris accounts found themselves throttled or temporarily suspended, leading some Democrats to cry foul. As Musk's 'DOGE', or Department of Government Efficiency, swept through Washington in February at Trump's behest, X became a digital command centre of the new administration. Musk used it to amplify claims of waste and corruption, some of them unfounded, at the agencies and programs he targeted for elimination. He baited critics with memes of himself as the Godfather and polled his followers on what DOGE should cut next. Now it's Trump that Musk is trolling, after ending his government service a long way short of his stated goal of cutting $US2 trillion in federal spending. He sent warning shots on Tuesday, calling Trump's massive tax and immigration bill – the president's top domestic priority – a 'disgusting abomination'. The conflict escalated in a hurry on Thursday after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his 'great relationship' with Musk might be over. Over the following hours, Musk accused Trump and other Republican leaders of betraying their principles and approvingly reposted criticisms of them from other accounts. That can have ripple effects across X as users vie to craft posts that will win a reply or amplification from Musk that can boost their own followings. At one point, Musk posted a poll asking his 220 million followers if it was time to 'create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80 per cent in the middle'. Six hours into the 24-hour poll, the votes leaned heavily toward 'Yes'. Traffic to X surely spiked on Thursday as political and tech insiders became glued to the conflict and citizens were left to wonder what it meant for the world's richest person to be at war with its most politically powerful. How the feud will affect Musk's influence and business empire is less certain. Loading Tesla and SpaceX, his most valuable companies, depend heavily on government regulation and contracts, making them vulnerable to attacks by Trump and his administration. Tesla stock fell on Thursday as investors appeared to fear retribution. Public spats between influencers are great for engagement on social platforms. But if the acrimony continues, Musk may have to reckon again with an exodus of users repelled by his politics. His embrace of Trump sent liberals scurrying to Meta's Threads and upstart Bluesky. His split with the president could give Trump an opening to lure more conservatives to Truth Social. On Thursday, some X influencers appeared to have calculated they had better prospects by sticking with Musk. An account called DogeDesigner with 41 million followers posted that Musk 'sacrificed a lot for Trump' and deserved better treatment. Just last week, Musk had sent it a heart emoji for a post promoting his alliance with the president. Another account called Shibetoshi Nakamoto mused, 'can i finally say that trump's tariffs are super stupid'. In a battle between Musk and Trump, 'My money's on Elon,' conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote, adding that 'Trump should be impeached and [US vice president] J.D. Vance should replace him.'
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Trump-Musk feud escalates
Nick Grimm: The rift is widening between US President Donald Trump and his former close ally, tech billionaire Elon Musk, with the pair trading bitter accusations on social media. The escalating feud comes as the Trump administration attempts to get a mammoth spending bill through the Senate, which is facing fierce opposition from Democrats, some Republicans and Elon Musk himself. Gavin Coote reports. Gavin Coote: A political bromance that has devolved into an acrimonious divorce. After days of growing criticism from Elon Musk about Donald Trump's signature spending bill, the US president is now hitting back. Donald Trump: I'm very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people. He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the EV mandate because that's billions and billions of dollars. Gavin Coote: The CEO of electric vehicle company Tesla was until recently President Trump's most powerful ally. But the relationship fractured when Elon Musk began attacking the Trump administration's efforts to get a spending bill through Congress that would cut taxes and ramp up spending for border security. The men are now trading insults and accusations with Mr. Musk claiming on social media without evidence that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That's in reference to a large tranche of material relating to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who was accused of abusing underage girls before taking his own life in prison. For many observers, the fallout wasn't a matter of if, but when. Prof Todd Belt: This was inevitable, but seeing it blow up like this so quickly is actually surprising. Gavin Coote: Professor Todd Belt is a political analyst with George Washington University. While Mr. Musk only recently left his post as a top advisor in the Trump administration, Professor Belt suspects tensions between the pair have been building for some time. Prof Todd Belt: There's a very famous photo from behind a door of Trump pointing at Musk, and we never really got the story behind that. I suspect we might now. Elon Musk was walking the halls of power. He was in the Oval Office and now he says he's sleeping in his server farms and conference rooms. So politically, he's really gone from the pinnacle to the pit. And you have to think that this is because he's really concerned about his businesses. He's said as much. The stock prices are down. The sales are down. Gavin Coote: Tesla's share price plunged by 14 percent on Thursday. While the feud continues to play out on social media, it's unclear where it could go next. Donald Trump has already threatened to cancel billions of dollars in government contracts involving Mr. Musk's companies. Bruce Wolpe is a senior fellow at the U.S. Study Center and a former Democratic staffer. Bruce Wolpe: It's getting ugly. And the question is, how ugly can it really get? I mean, Musk says that Trump would have lost the election without him. Musk has supported a tweet calling for Trump's impeachment and J.D. Vance become president. Musk has said, I'm dropping the bomb and Trump is in the Epstein tapes. These are the notorious records of Jeffrey Epstein. He's also, Musk is also disconnecting, decommissioning a rocket that's essential to resupplying the International Space Station. And so can it go any worse? Gavin Coote: The spending bill that sparked Mr. Musk's fury is yet to pass the Senate. And while he's vowed to continue mobilising opposition to it, Bruce Wolpe suspects it will have limited impact. Bruce Wolpe: When Musk first said this bill does not control the deficit, that is something that a lot of Republicans on the Hill wanted to get some information on and want to support. But when it gets this personal, I think the Republicans on the Hill, they're choosing between Trump and Musk. There's no choice here. And the Republicans are with Trump and everything rides on Trump's being able to pass this big, beautiful mega bill. If he can pass that, then his legacy, at least for the first term, will be sealed. Gavin Coote: So where does that leave Elon Musk? Do you think he will end up becoming this sort of angry voice out in the wilderness? Bruce Wolpe: Musk said that Trump has three and a half years left. He says, I'm going to be around for 40 years and he has all the money in the world. And so wherever he applies his brain and his money and his power, he can make a difference. So we will see as to where it goes. But this will go on for a while. And that does not do anything to improve the political culture in the United States. It's ugly. It's going to get worse. Nick Grimm: Bruce Wolpe there from the US Studies Center, ending Gavin Coote's report.
