Sen. Mark Kelly, a adorned Navy veteran in addition to a former astronaut, simply completed a go to to Ukraine.
Whereas the nation invaded by Russia is surviving by way of American and allied assist, the Arizona Democrat says, “I saw how cutting it off now risks everything so many Ukrainians have laid down their lives for. And while our support hasn’t been free, we haven’t sent even half of what President Trump says.
“Hospitals ought to by no means be targets in conflict, however Putin is a conflict prison who targets hospitals routinely. I visited one in Kyiv. Injured troopers informed me how they wish to get again to the struggle. Nurses there shared their tales of the invasion with me by way of tears. Tales of violence that ladies and kids of Ukraine suffered through the invasion.”
Elon Musk had a venomous reaction: “You’re a traitor.”
DONALD TRUMP, FACING TERRIBLE COVERAGE, SOFTENS TONE AND TACTICS FOR ELON MUSK’S DOGE CRUSADE
Seriously? A traitor? To whom? America? Donald Trump? The world’s richest man just loves to pick fights.
Kelly punched right back: “Traitor? Elon, if you happen to don’t perceive that defending freedom is a primary tenet of what makes America nice and retains us secure, possibly you must go away it to these of us who do.”
As a United States senator, Kelly was doing his job and posted a moving account of the toll of the war. He also criticized Trump for cutting off military aid to Ukraine after that Oval Office slugfest which Volodymyr Zelenskyy botched, trying to talk over Trump as he was scolded, and ended up being evicted from the White House.
We all know that Musk is a business genius and an impulsive guy. He often delivers punches on the X platform he has transformed, with a post-first-ask-questions-later approach.
Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 11. (AP Images)
He clearly relishes political combat. Musk has engaged in bitter exchanges with Marco Rubio (though they’re playing nice now) and with Steve Bannon. But Elon has become a lightning rod, especially since his DOGE team has made a series of high-profile mistakes, firing and rehiring crucial experts.
Trump decided to stand by his man, and posted this:
“To Republicans, Conservatives, and all nice Individuals, Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ so as to assist our Nation, and he’s doing a FANTASTIC JOB! However the Radical Left Lunatics, as they usually do, are attempting to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of many World’s nice automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ so as to assault and do hurt to Elon, and every little thing he stands for…In any occasion, I’m going to purchase a model new Tesla tomorrow morning as a present of confidence and assist for Elon Musk, a very nice American. Why ought to he be punished for placing his great abilities to work so as to assist MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”
I get Trump’s defense, but he’s also opposed to electric cars and concentrates on saving American auto jobs for gas-powered vehicles.
VANCE PITCHES GOP REBELS ON DOGE, BORDER IN 11TH-HOUR PLEA FOR UNITY AGAINST SHUTDOWN
Musk goes off the reservation at times, such as calling Social Security, which Trump has vowed to protect, a “Ponzi Scheme” on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
And he informed former Trump financial adviser Larry Kudlow, on Fox Enterprise, that $500 to $700 billion in so-called “waste” needed to be cut from Social Security: “A lot of the federal spending is entitlements. That’s the massive one to get rid of.”
Perhaps Musk should concentrate on the plunging stock market, caused primarily by uncertainty over Trump’s tariff wars but also by worries about the impact of DOGE’s mass firings.
President Donald Trump speaks as Elon Musk, joined by his son X Æ A-Xii, listens in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
People pay into Social Security over a lifetime with the expectation it will be there when they retire. It’s the main source of income for many elderly people. Of course the program eventually has to be rescued from insolvency, but talking about “the massive one to get rid of” – including Medicare – seems rather callous.
And in case you think the market is only for elite investors, if you have a 401-K, the calamity on Wall Street affects you, and your retirement fund just lost a helluva lot of value.
The market dropped again yesterday when Trump, responding to retaliation by Ontario taxing electricity to the U.S., raised the tariff on all Canadian steel and aluminum exports from 25 percent to 50 percent. The Ontario premier reacted by dropping the electricity threat.
Tesla stock has tanked since its mid-December high, with a 16 percent decline Monday, causing Musk’s net worth to plunge by $140 billion. But don’t worry–he’s still the richest guy on the planet.
Trump is pictured with a Tesla. (X / @RapidResponse47)
He’s also become a highly visible target. As the New York Times notes, “Somebody set fireplace to Tesla charging stations close to Boston; pictures had been fired at a Tesla dealership in Oregon; and protesters had been arrested at a nonviolent protest at a Tesla dealership in Decrease Manhattan.”
Tesla cyber trucks were also torched in Seattle.
I don’t care what you think of his politics, this kind of targeted violence is completely unacceptable, not to mention illegal.
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Trump is still backing his high-profile colleague, while quietly trying to rein him in and shift power to his agency heads.
Elon Musk is a guy who wants to colonize Mars. But he often seems detached from the political realities here on Earth.
