Yesterday’s sudden war between Elon Musk and President Trump was bizarre, and, sadly, represents a setback for the administration and the conservative movement. It is hard to understand how their relationship can have unraveled so suddenly. Here are a few thoughts:
* I blame Elon. His attack on the “big beautiful bill” was ill-informed and over the top, and his subsequent attacks on Trump were embarrassing–to Musk, not to Trump.
* On the big bill: every conservative in America would like to see more spending cuts. But did Musk just fall off a turnip truck? The Republicans have razor-thin margins in both chambers, and cutting spending in Washington is hard, not easy. That said, there are significant spending cuts in the bill ($1.7 trillion over ten years, by the administration’s count) and many other good provisions. Stephen Moore’s Unleash Prosperity Hotline lists these favorites:
* Implements work requirements for able-bodied Americans receiving taxpayer-funded benefits.
* Reverses electric vehicle mandates set by radical climate activists.
* Opens federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal, and mineral leasing.
* Expands tax relief for small businesses by increasing the profits tax deduction to 23%.
* Renews and expands 100% immediate expensing for equipment and machinery.
* Increases the endowment tax on large universities.
* Cancels Biden’s illegal, unfair student loan bailouts.
* Requires states to pay a higher match for food stamps and strengthens work requirements.
* Expands health savings accounts to give Americans greater choice and flexibility in how they spend their money.
* Incentivizes school choice scholarships that empowers American families and students to choose the education that best fits their needs.
* Ends requirement that Venmo, PayPal, and others report transactions over $600 to the IRS.
* Holds universities financially accountable to the government on defaulted federal student loans.
* Increases timber sales on federal lands.
* Authorizes the sale of expanded spectrum to strengthen rural broadband and secure America’s technological dominance.
The White House itemizes its “fifty wins” in the bill here.
Beyond that, the idea that the bill should be blown up can only be a Democratic Party dream come true. If the bill doesn’t pass in some form, the 2017 tax cuts expire on December 31. The result would be the biggest tax increase in American history. That is an utterly unacceptable result that, among other things, would devastate the Republican Party.
* Musk’s personal attacks on Trump were childish and irresponsible. His reference to the “Epstein files” was unforgivable. Epstein was for many years a respected and remarkably well-connected person. It would not be surprising if Trump’s name has cropped up in connection with Epstein’s, along with thousands of other people. But one thing we know for sure is that Trump never rode on Epstein’s infamous airplane. How do we know this? Because it came out that Bill Clinton rode on the plane, and if Trump had done so the fact would have been leaked years ago.
* The idea that Trump should be impeached is also absurd. Trump is by no means a perfect warrior, but he is leading the fight against leftist forces that have put our country in a position of extreme peril, both fiscally and in other respects. While it is fine to criticize him on specific issues, as we have done a number of times, he deserves our support and, frankly, our thanks for his efforts to turn our country around.
* Tesla has nothing to do with it. I have seen speculation that termination of federal subsidies for electric vehicles is somehow related to the blowup. But Musk has been advocating doing away with such subsidies for years. Why? Because his company makes the only EVs that people actually want to buy.
* Musk’s apostasy will discredit the entire DOGE effort. It shouldn’t, but it will. This is a great shame, as DOGE has, in a very short time, played an important role in highlighting wasteful (and worse) spending. That effort must continue, under whatever name.
* Musk’s outburst was so irrational that it seems to reflect some kind of mental imbalance. It makes me wonder whether the rumors about his drug use–which liberal journalists were promoting just a week ago, before they joined Team Elon–might be true.
* All in all, it was a sad day for the conservative movement. You can see that by the glee with which liberal journalists covered the breakup.
