Summary
Elon Musk suggested cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in a Fox News interview, citing debunked claims about fraud and linking benefits to illegal immigration.
He falsely claimed millions of deceased individuals remain in the Social Security system, a statement previously refuted by officials.
While Trump has promised not to cut entitlement programs, Musk’s remarks indicate they are under threat, potentially impacting millions of Americans.
His rhetoric echoes far-right conspiracy theories, raising concerns about his influence on policy discussions regarding social safety nets.
Because the President and the Republican majority in the House and Senate are onboard with it, and that’s the authority driving it (mostly the President, but the reason that Congress isn’t objecting to or trying to block stuff is because they’re okay with it). Musk may be the face of the cuts — he doesn’t have to worry about re-election, unlike politicians — he has no authority of his own. His organization is just saying “this is what we should cut”, and the cuts happen under the President’s authority. Musk isn’t independently going out and cutting things.
It’s weird seeing this complete and utter bullshit being unironically spewed still. It wasn’t Trump that cut the air traffic controllers, or nuclear watchdogs, or infections disease investigators. It was Musk, and spreading this propaganda just helps protect Trump from allowing it.