Elon Musk is NOT Our Friend!
- by Steve Garone, Co-Chair, Wayland Democratic Town Committee
NOTE: Views expressed in this blog are those of the author, and not necessarily those of any other WDTC members.
This blog is one of a series to be published by members of the Wayland Democratic Town Committees and guest contributors.​
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The pile of musty, smelly garbage that the relationship between Elon Musk and the Trump administration and congress has become has been all over the news over the past few days. It is amazing to watch what has become of Musk’s role as the “DOGE master”; it is just about as amazing to watch the reaction of many Democrats to it – including those in leadership positions.
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To be sure, despite his lack of skill and familiarity with the way government operates, Musk in his own mind took his job seriously. It’s clear that he intended to use his figurative chain saw to cut government spending to the point where it would have a measurable impact on the country’s deficit and debt. Putting aside both the incompetence of the execution of his “plan”, and the resulting increase in government costs that more than wiped out his savings, his strong criticism of the Trump administration and congress demonstrates that Republicans really have no interest in lowering the deficit and debt.
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To those of us who have observed Republicans over the past 40+ years, this does not come as a surprise. They are notorious for deficit increases while cutting taxes for the wealthy. This often creates a debt and interest rate crisis, which they always hope will give them cover to cut the programs we support.
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So perhaps it is not surprising at first glance that the “man with the chainsaw” is perturbed over that big, beautiful bill the Republicans are trying to push through the senate. Since Democrats are genuinely interested in keeping the deficit under control, then perhaps its should not be all that surprising that the likes of Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, and others have made a point of promoting their “agreement” with Musk.
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To be sure (at least one hopes so!) the Democrats will use Musk’s criticisms on an ongoing basis, and in the 2026 campaign to discredit the administration and question its competence and commitment to the American people – as well they should. At the same time, aligning oneself with the likes of Musk could turn out to be a serious mistake. Regardless of his motivation, we in fact have NO reason to agree with Musk. The truth is, if he had his way, almost all programs that we support and fight for would be wiped out. We want to keep deficits down, but we have very different ways of accomplishing that goal. It’s ok to articulate that goal, while at the same time making it clear that in no way would we make that happen using any approach associated with Musk. Our leadership did not do that.
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It's also important to recognize that selfishness is a likely motivator for Musk. His businesses (Tesla, Starlink, etc.) rely on several government programs that the bill he despises so much will end or cut substantially. This is all the more reason to keep our distance from Musk.
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Oh – and it appears as if Russell Vought, who is Trump’s budget hawk and one of the chief architects of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, will be Musk’s DOGE replacement.
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