Home » All Videos »
Many don’t like this strange man. Elon Musk has a weird vibe that takes getting used to. But if this extraordinarily dude can take the heat, then government might be forever changed. It is a big ‘if.’ Even insanely rich people have egos. It is one reason they got so rich. Imagine then how bruising it must be when you’re Elon Musk, ruler of earth and space, and even politicians on your own side are attacking you.
His sin was upending the status quo. Musk incurred DC’s wrath when he rallied a potent combination of conservative modernists, including Vivek Ramaswamy, hundreds of millions of armchair warriors on X, and a couple dozen House Republicans to take a stand. These stubborn, dogmatic anti-tax rebels refused to go along with a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government offered last week by Republican leadership.
Their original draft 1,547-page monstrosity was read by no one. Musk calling out the authors of the CR stunned everyone. Even though it contained more pork than a pig farm, it was on the fast track to passage because otherwise the government would have shut down. Then Musk got involved, telling the world what was in the document, embarrassing everyone.
Musk is like the Jim Carrey character in ‘Liar Liar.’ He must tell the truth. And the ugly truth about the debt ceiling is government survives on borrowed money, secret, self-serving deals, rewards, pay backs, payoffs, lobbyists and reciprocal backscratching. It is hard to believe the guy building rockets to conquer the universe has the patience to unmake and remake dysfunctional Washington.
The funding bill that eventually passed was 1/10th the original size. It will still only keep government open until March 2025. To end the periodic melodrama President Trump demanded that Congress extend or even abolish the debt-ceiling and end these chaotic debates. That notion was widely scoffed and easily rejected, representing Trump’s first setback since his election landslide.
It is just the beginning. President Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and their Republican colleagues are discovering how dangerous Elon Musk is to the status quo. He is loose inside the factory and telling everyone how the sausage is made.
It’s not going to get easier for this unconventional president and his once-in-a-lifetime-team. Republicans have a tiny majority. They will have a tough time even electing a House Speaker, much less crafting a Trumpian agenda. And whether Trump likes it or not, Musk is going to be an annoying presence over Trump’s shoulder. The big question is whether and for how long their extraordinary hookup survives.
More articles by Geraldo Rivera.
Watch Geraldo’s latest videos.