Lawrence O’Donnell suggested that President Donald Trump must be running scared from his former right-hand-man Elon Musk, saying his silence amid the tech CEO’s slew of anti-budget bill social media posts only shows Trump is terrified of the billionaire.
“Elon Musk declared today, on day 134 of the Trump presidency, ‘I just can’t stand it anymore.’ And in response, the explosively rageful Donald Trump said nothing,” O’Donnell said on his MSNBC program “The Last Word.” “And that is how you know who Donald Trump fears in this world. If you attack Donald Trump and Donald Trump says nothing, Donald Trump’s silence is the biggest expression of fear that he has.”
Before calling Trump a scaredy cat, O’Donnell outlined how Musk, who has since exited his position as the leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), flipped the switch on his former right-hand-man by attacking Trump’s proposed “big beautiful bill,” which seeks to slice funding for Medicaid and the country’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and includes a number of tax cuts among other changes.
Per a projection from the Congressional Budget Office, the Republican-led bill, which has been passed by the House, would tack on another $2.3 trillion in debt for the country over the next 10 years.
Since its proposal, Musk has slammed the bill in a series of tweets.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk wrote on X on Tuesday. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
On Wednesday, Musk called on his followers to “call your Senator,” “call your Congressman” to report any grievances.
“Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL,” Musk posted.
So far, neither Trump nor his administration have released a statement related to Musk’s remarks. O’Donnell said Trump’s decision to not respond is rooted in Trump being terrified of Musk using his power, influence, and maybe most importantly, his money. He also noted that Musk’s tweets could be a tantrum he’s throwing after his hopes to stay on as the head of D.O.G.E. beyond the 130-day period were denied.
“And if true, then Elon Musk was effectively fired by Donald Trump, which could explain Elon Musk screaming at the top of his Twitter lungs this morning, ‘I just can’t stand it anymore,’” O’Donnell said.
He continued: “Donald Trump fears not being able to get more money from the richest person in the world. Donald Trump fears the richest person in the world turning his money against Donald Trump’s candidates and Republican primary elections. And Donald Trump fears the richest person in the world convincing Republican members of the Senate and the House not to vote for Donald Trump’s budget bill that Elon Musk now calls a ‘disgusting abomination.’ A disgusting abomination.’”
Toward the end of his broadcast, O’Donnell touched on Musk calling for the firing of every Republican who voted for the bill, which, in effect, includes Trump, he said.
“Today, after his two-hour Twitter silence, Elon said, ‘We fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.’ That means Elon Musk wants to fire every single Republican member of the House of Representatives, except for two who voted for the disgusting abomination of the bill,” O’Donnell said. “Two Republicans didn’t vote for it, and that has to mean that Elon Musk wants to fire the man apparently fired him on Friday … That’s Elon Musk saying that Donald Trump betrayed the American people by pushing this bill … So there it is. On the 134th Day of the Trump presidency, Elon Musk wants to fired Donald Trump for betraying the American people, which is five years late.”
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