How very noble of Elon Musk to confess he makes errors.
On Tuesday, the person to whom President Trump has apparently ceded the presidency in trade for $250 million in political contributions, carried out a bizarre Oval Office news conference the place he admitted, form of, that he’s fallible.
Musk stood going through reporters as Trump sat almost mute behind his desk, sidelined after just a few opening remarks.
Musk was accompanied by X, the 4-year-old son he shares with the musician Grimes. As kids typically do, the little boy stole the present. However this was hardly an enthralling John-John Kennedy style display. It was completely obnoxious.
X sat on Musk’s shoulders, poked his fingers into his daddy’s ears, picked his nostril, wiped his finger on the Resolute Desk and informed the president to “go away.”
A reporter requested Musk to elucidate why he allowed the Trump administration to wrongly accuse the U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth of sending $50 million to Gaza for condoms.
“A few of the issues that I say shall be incorrect, and needs to be corrected,” stated the unelected bureaucrat who likes to rail in opposition to unelected bureaucrats. “So, no one’s going to bat a thousand. I imply … you understand, we’ll make errors, however we’ll act shortly to right any errors.”
His nonchalant response instantly delivered to thoughts the iconic scene in “Dr. Strangelove” the place the war-happy Gen. “Buck” Turgidson — performed by George C. Scott — suggests dropping a nuclear bomb on Russia.
“You’re speaking about mass homicide, Normal, not warfare!” exclaims President Merkin Muffley, performed by the nice Peter Sellers.
“Mr. President,” replies Turgidson, “I’m not saying we wouldn’t get our hair mussed.”
How did the egregious lie about sending condoms to Gaza take maintain?
On Jan. 28, throughout her first official briefing, White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt introduced to reporters that “there was about to be $50 million taxpayer {dollars} that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza” earlier than Trump and Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity stepped in to stop “a preposterous waste of taxpayer cash.”
Per week or so later, Trump inflated the amount to $100 million and stated the condoms had been going to Hamas, an indefensible perversion of an already indefensible lie.
Based mostly on authorities studies, CNN’s Daniel Dale reported that within the fiscal yr 2023, USAID “condom assist” totaled about $8 million globally. In line with the company, Dale discovered, Mozambique, which has a province referred to as Gaza, acquired “about $5.4 million value of non-condom contraceptives.” Regardless of Mozambique’s extraordinarily excessive HIV an infection price — it ranks eighth on the earth — the report included no point out of an allocation for condoms.
You possibly can name the accusation a mistake, or you could possibly extra precisely name it a lie designed to generate outrage and distrust concerning the many life-saving overseas assist packages administered by USAID.
That is the DOGE method: shoot first, goal later, if in any respect.
Take the lie that Musk unfold on X about federal emergency funds getting used to deal with migrants in luxurious lodges in New York Metropolis.
“The @DOGE staff simply found that FEMA despatched $59M LAST WEEK to luxurious lodges in New York Metropolis to deal with unlawful migrants,” Musk posted on X. “Sending this cash violated the regulation and is in gross insubordination to the President’s government order. That cash is supposed for American catastrophe reduction and as a substitute is being spent on excessive finish lodges for illegals!”
And but, the DOGE staff had found nothing of the kind.
FactCheck.org, the New York Times and AP all checked out the luxury-hotel-for-migrants declare and found — shock, shock — that it was a falsehood.
No cash for catastrophe reduction misallocated, no cash went to fancy lodges. Federal funds administered by FEMA — not catastrophe {dollars} — had been despatched to town of New York, which spent a median of $156 an evening on lodges for migrants, hardly a luxurious price. Nonetheless, FEMA unilaterally clawed again $80 million used to deal with migrants in New York Metropolis and fired four federal employees for doing their jobs.
Why let the details get in the way in which of a narrative that may whip up anger on the authorities and help for Musk’s doubtful DOGE?
Musk’s greatest lie is that he and his “nerd military” of younger tech bros function with transparency.
“I totally count on to be scrutinized and get, you understand, a day by day proctology examination, principally,” stated the sophomoric billionaire who embodies my perception that nice fortunes can infantilize their homeowners. “It’s not like I feel I can get away with one thing.”
His stab at humility could be reassuring if something within the precise report supported it.
Bluesky: @rabcarian.bsky.social. Threads: @rabcarian
