Here’s a fun little thought experiment: Let’s pretend it’s exactly four years ago. President Biden has now been in office for a few weeks; his approval rating is in the low 60s (which is actually higher than Trump’s today). Meanwhile, ex-President Trump is at his nadir, leaving office with an anemic approval rating of just 38%.
In this thought experiment, let’s also pretend that President Biden has decided to make a blockbuster political announcement on live TV: “Dagnabbit, there’s been too much corruption under my predecessor, who was a lying, dog-faced pony soldier (as you know). Plus, over the last 40 years, government waste has spiraled way out of control. If we don’t get a handle on it ASAP, inflation will explode post-COVID — folks will be paying $7 for a dozen eggs, if you can believe such a crazy thing!”
Be a pretty good speech, right? But here comes the kicker:
“For far too long, Republicans and Democrats turned a blind eye to government waste,” Biden says in our thought experiment. “It was a bipartisan boondoggle! Well, no more. I’m excited to announce that I’ve negotiated a special arrangement with one of our nation’s most innovative organizational geniuses — the great Elon Musk! — to step away from his corporate empire and pore through the financial records of federal agencies. Large or small, left or right, liberal or conservative, Mr. Musk will examine each and every one of them. This is the people’s money, after all — and we deserve to know the truth about where the hell it’s going!”
The mainstream media of 2021, quite naturally, would celebrate wildly, throwing flowers and candy at the feet of Biden and Musk. “It’s marvelous!” they’d declare. “And thank goodness Mr. Musk is already so rich because anyone else would be tempted to fill their own pockets. Surely we can trust the super-genius who privatized space travel and saved the planet with his electric cars!”
Yup, no doubt about it: Biden’s proposal would’ve been met with thunderous applause. (And it would be Republicans yelling about the perils of Big Tech.)
Of course, a lot can change in four years.
Here we are in 2025, knee-deep in DOGE, and DOGE-gonit, the Democrats are howling and screaming like their sacred cows are about to be skewered. And they probably are: Musk and his DOGErs are uncovering billions in fraud.
For most Americans, the sight of the world’s richest man — armed with a platoon of young wiz-kids with (ahem) colorful nicknames — is a fascinating spectacle to behold. They support Trump’s goals, which is reflected in his positive opinion polls.
But they don’t fully trust Musk. For the radical left, he’s literally the Devil’s advocate; for everyone else, he’s a weirdo billionaire who wants to be a trillionaire. Musk is still respected as a generational genius (the rambling protests of AOC notwithstanding), but his cars and rockets are largely dependent on government subsidies, deals, and contracts; the inherent conflict is obvious.
Conservatives are still on the fence, too. There’s almost a Reaganesque “trust but verify” impulse. I mean, sure, we’re very appreciative of his X takeover, political support, and commitment to free speech. It made a real, tangible difference in the 2024 election. But it’s difficult to shake the nagging feeling that Musk’s MAGA alliance was more of a momentary convergence of interests than a long-term commitment to the conservative cause.
This leaves Musk in a precarious position because the left-wing PR machine is doing EVERYTHING it can to take him to the woodchipper. Without Trump’s executive protection and the loud, forceful support of the right (including conservative media), he’s vulnerable to vilification.
Musk is NOT “too big to fail.” And his car company — the source of most of his wealth — is especially vulnerable to the whims of the left. As we’ve noted in the past:
Estimates vary and markets fluctuate, but roughly speaking, 75 percent of Elon Musk’s wealth is tied to Tesla. And Tesla, of course, is an electric car company.
According to Gallup, 71 percent of Republicans would not consider owning an electric vehicle.
Eighty-three percent of Democrats would consider owning an electric vehicle.
You don’t need to be a statistician to recognize which audience matters most to Tesla’s core business model.
Musk is still pursuing his own business vision: Just yesterday, news broke of his bid to buy ChatGPT for a (trifling) $97.4 billion. (Sidenote: If Musk is willing to spend nearly $100B to acquire ChatGPT, I'm not sure what that says about the future of xAI.) He has his own goals and objectives; “trust but verify” is still good advice.
In the meantime, DOGE has a limited window to control its own narrative: It needs to deliver the goods. If it does, the Democrats are placed in the awkward position of defending waste, graft, theft, and corruption. (Which, historically, doesn’t poll very well.)
And while this window is open, the conservative movement needs to shield DOGE from the slings and arrows of the hysterical left, pointing out the obvious: This is the people’s money. And we want it back!
Furthermore, it’s astonishingly hypocritical — even by liberal standards — to insist that “Democracy dies in darkness!” for four long years and then demand that it bank in secret. Either darkness is bad, or it isn’t.
The rest is up to DOGE. Just deliver the goods, baby.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member