Summary

Elon Musk, a Republican megadonor and close Trump ally, is reportedly set to have office space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the West Wing.

Musk is expected to head the “Department of Government Efficiency,” aiming to reduce federal spending under Trump.

Critics question Musk’s influence, noting his frequent presence at key Trump meetings and events.

This move, if confirmed, would grant Musk continued access to Trump post-inauguration, sparking debate about the billionaire’s role in the administration despite holding no official government position.

  • 58008@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Not that I would ever condone or encourage such abhorrent and inexcusable behaviour, but it would seem like if anyone in US politics is begging for a bullet, it’s Musk. Even more so than Trump or his cabinet of monstrosities. Musk is uniquely poised to catch a round in the dome. And it will probably be a MAGA lunatic that does it.

    • Deway@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Musk is a bigger problem for the world as a whole than Trump is. So yeah, I still don’t get why it hasn’t happened yet.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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      1 month ago

      That door has been open a while, he’s just the biggest one and in the latest tradition the quiet part is being said out loud now. More validation of the real message of “Soylent Green”, where a society degrades to the point where even the most outrageous actions get at best a shrug from the apathetic public.

      • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Surely they are playing with fire now, right? The French Revolution happened in part because the oligarchy became so brazen about things.

        • TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          We will find out when these idiots start the second great depression. When 400 million people can’t eat shit gets real.

  • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    The article and the NYT one which it cites fail to mention if there’s any historical precedent for this kind of arrangement. Is there?

    • valek879@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      No idea for the US but a few years ago South Korea dealt with a similar situation. It was revealed that the president had a friend who was acting as an unpaid, unelected advisor making decisions for the president, seeing classified information, and helping set national policy. They had million person protests in the middle of Seoul that culminated in the impeachment of their president and her removal from office. The advisor was also arrested and sentenced to 20 years or something.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_South_Korean_political_scandal

      • Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 month ago

        Unfortunately most americans are too spineless to raise up and do anything about this bullshit so there will be no penalty.

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    This twerp must have some absolutely devastating dirt on Trumpy boy. I’m coming to the conclusion that there’s no other explanation. It can’t possibly just be money; Trump has tons of other rich donors. What I’m struggling to predict, though, is just what he could possibly have to hold over Trump’s head that’s worse than selling classified documents, misusing campaign funds, trying to incite an insurrection, or failing to pay his hookers.

    • andyburke@fedia.io
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      1 month ago

      It’s not like this. This is conspiratorial thinking.

      These people are just … weirdos. This is how weirdos are friends: transactionally, with little common ground. Trump feels like he has something to offer a friend that friend, even though he’s richer, can’t.

      It’s all fucking base and stupid and nowhere near the ideals we are supposed to aspire to as a nation.

    • Supervisor194@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      They are both beholden to Putin, very likely afraid for their lives and rightfully so. Putin is a billionaire but he also has a state apparatus with global reach behind him that he is intimately familiar with. He has demonstrated repeatedly over the years that he is willing and able to use that apparatus to… make people fall out of windows, etc. And all of this doesn’t even consider the possibility of kompromat - these are all deeply bad people.

      I believe Putin is the real mastermind behind everything that is going on and also that he has realized that Trump is of limited value to him in the White House. Trump’s cult gets him in, but he had four years already and really didn’t make a lot of inroads (not to mention his visibly declining health).

      So in my opinion, this is Putin shuttling in someone who can be more useful to him. The canary in the coal mine for whether or not this is true will be to see if the infighting everyone is breathlessly predicting ever materializes. I predict it will not. Elon Musk will not end up like Anthony Scaramucci.

  • TommySoda@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Dystopian implications aside, I wanna see how long it takes for everyone to be absolutely sick of him. He’s already insufferable when he’s not even in the room.

      • TommySoda@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        I’m talking more about the other people in the Whitehouse. I’ve had my fair share of obnoxious and insufferable coworkers that I’ve been forced to interact with on a daily basis.

    • Goodmorningsunshine@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      “Efficacy of Trump’s presidency”? You’re using words to legitimize the non-legitimizable. There’s no reason to pay attention to any of this. It’s going to be an unrelenting shit show that destroys the country. That’s the macro and the micro. Why spend even a second looking into it?