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 alternate for $250 million in political contributions, carried out a weird Oval Workplace information convention the place he admitted, form of, that he’s fallible.
Musk stood dealing with reporters as Trump sat practically mute behind his desk, sidelined after a number of opening remarks.
Opinion Columnist
Robin Abcarian
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 type show. It was totally 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 instructed 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,” mentioned the unelected bureaucrat who likes to rail in opposition to unelected bureaucrats. “So, no person’s going to bat a thousand. I imply … you realize, we’ll make errors, however we’ll act rapidly to right any errors.”
His nonchalant response instantly dropped at 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, Basic, not battle!” exclaims President Merkin Muffley, performed by the good 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 quantity to $100 million and mentioned the condoms have been going to Hamas, an indefensible perversion of an already indefensible lie.
Based mostly on authorities stories, CNN’s Daniel Dale reported that within the fiscal 12 months 2023, USAID “condom support” totaled about $8 million globally. In accordance with the company, Dale discovered, Mozambique, which has a province referred to as Gaza, obtained “about $5.4 million price of non-condom contraceptives.” Regardless of Mozambique’s extraordinarily excessive HIV an infection charge — 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 can extra precisely name it a lie designed to generate outrage and distrust concerning the many life-saving overseas support applications administered by USAID.
That is the DOGE strategy: shoot first, purpose 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 inns in New York Metropolis.
“The @DOGE workforce simply found that FEMA despatched $59M LAST WEEK to luxurious inns in New York Metropolis to deal with unlawful migrants,” Musk posted on X. “Sending this cash violated the legislation and is in gross insubordination to the President’s government order. That cash is supposed for American catastrophe reduction and as an alternative is being spent on excessive finish inns for illegals!”
And but, the DOGE workforce had found nothing of the kind.
FactCheck.org, the New York Occasions 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 inns. Federal funds administered by FEMA — not catastrophe {dollars} — have been despatched to town of New York, which spent a mean of $156 an evening on inns for migrants, hardly a luxurious charge. Nonetheless, FEMA unilaterally clawed again $80 million used to deal with migrants in New York Metropolis and fired 4 federal staff for doing their jobs.
Why let the information get in the best way of a narrative that may whip up anger on the authorities and assist for Musk’s doubtful DOGE?
Musk’s largest 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 realize, a every day proctology examination, mainly,” mentioned the sophomoric billionaire who embodies my perception that nice fortunes can infantilize their house owners. “It’s not like I believe I can get away with one thing.”
His stab at humility is perhaps reassuring if something within the precise report supported it.
Bluesky: @rabcarian.bsky.social. Threads: @rabcarian
