And that was his game the entire time. It’s scary to think about what he plans to do with our data, since he paid around $300+ million to get it. And, I’m certain that he would never setup backdoor access to all those government networks and servers, since he’s such a honest person… right??? (Hint: he did setup accounts to continue accessing the government networks and we already know that he has given the Russians the logins)
Even if we flip the House and Senate in 2026 and the WH in 2028, it is going to take decades to clean up all the “criming”.
It’s beyond frightening to think of the amount of personal data Musk accumulated and what he’s going to do with it, has already done with it, or who he’s sold it to.
He got all the data he wanted. He got rid of government agencies and employees who dared push back against him. He can now take all that data, use it for his own purposes, push competitors out of the way, and make even more money. He was never about effective governance- this was simply a way of lining his own pockets.
Olivia, please bring this great group to Chicago!! The Bulwark was just here this week (Sarah, Tim, JVL, and special guest Adam Kinzinger) and they sold out a beautiful Northside 950 seat theater in 72 hours! I know your group would easily do the same!
Mush a genius, maybe .. but then he is also dumb as a box of rocks .. thinking he was sooo powerful he could convince, change, modify the asshole orange felon ..
No. IMO, an effort to reform was never what Muck's presence was about, at least, on his end. It was ALL about the data and the access. As Olivia suggests, mountains of info have been turned over to the Russians. Muck accessed details about competitive bids on services and products he wants to provide the government. He's got personal banking info on tens of millions of people. In short, all the stats on everyone and everything, basically. The avenues to monetization of this incalculable treasure trove are endless. The back doors installed in all the systems will assure that info continues to stream in to the server farm(s) where he's keeping it. And it all gives him POWER, to the nth degree.
The much-publicized expense cutting and now the public spat with Dump....all kabuki. Muck got what he was after, so it's time for his exit. Knowing, of course, that he can reel Dump back in whenever he wants to.
I don’t think the spat with Trump is Kabuki: some decisions from the WH could harm his businesses (I’ll believe Tariffgate is over in a few months, once SCOTUS makes a decision on it). Also because of Trump’s non-stop grift these past few months, he doesn’t need Musks money to primary whoever he wants; which means that Musks lost his quid proquo power and he’s not going to like that.
Yes, some WH decisions could harm his businesses, theoretically. But Muck has already destroyed or defanged the agencies that were going after him, so he's safe on many counts. Plus which, he now has all his competitors' info about pending government contracts. And if Dump tried to, say, order the removal of Starlink as a communications provider, he'd create a disaster, as the system is ubiquitous across government entities, including the military.
The monetary quid pro quo....well, we know that the first rule in finance is to always use OPM, and I'm sure that Roy Cohn drummed that into Dump. Sure, Dump could just invent another lie to bring the money flowing into his PACs, but much better if Muck is kicking in the coin. OTOH, the crypto grift could crash at any time, so it could be that Dump will go that route to underwrite primaries---you may be right on that, bigly.
I’m not sure why Trump would try to hurt Musk now: like any old narcissist, he’s done using him so now he’s discarding him. Like he did with Bannon when he needed the MAGA votes.
The crypto grift will not crash: there will always be bugs ready to burst into flames to get closer to the flame as proved by the dinner last week. And if (big if) that ended, there’s always the pardons for pay courtesy of SCOTUS immunity gift.
So basically, I think Musk got genuinely butt hurt by the sudden rejection (he went from running Cabinet meetings to getting ghosted by them 😂) but I can’t see any of them trying to hurt each other now.
If I read correctly, Bea, it was your suggestion that WH decisions could harm Muck's businesses. FWIW, I don't think Dump would go after him unless Muck indulges in a direct, public humiliation. If that happened, there'd be a scorched-earth battle.
As someone smarter than I am pointed out, the crypto ponzi schemes could fall victim to a single talented hacker. Or, a single large investor could start dumping the meme coins or the currency and start a run. Dump's holdings could be worthless in the space of a day or two. He'd still get the transaction fees, but otherwise, the value would evaporate. I wouldn’t cry.
I dunno. Muck may have had his fee-fees bruised, but I'd say it's more of an ego thing. That's what psychopaths are about. I can see him lashing out at anybody who disses him. Wouldn’t be surprised if Bessent pays for that shouting match, somewhere down the line.
My point is that he’s lost the leverage he had in the WH and decisions like tariffs will hurt his businesses too. Of course the data he got from the Doge access is hard to fathom. It’s totally an ego thing!! And I also agree it would be scorched-earth battle and I don’t think either of them is willing to do that: they’re not the besties they were 3 months ago but I really don’t think the spat is performative either.
I could be wrong on the crypto thing but my understanding is that it doesn’t matter if the value of his cryptoshit collapses now; it’s the trading fees that ensure the regular flow of cash. The ownership of the token is largely concentrated in two Trump owned entities, which together hold 80% of the coins remaining after the Initial Coin Offering. In fact it already has: “A forensic analysis commissioned by The New York Times concluded that 813,294 wallets lost $2 billion by trading the coin while the president's company and partners profited about $100 million from trading fees. According to Fortune, "Less than three weeks after its release, Trump’s memecoin has produced more losers than winners. For every dollar in trading fees the Trump crypto creators raked in, investors lost $20."
It’s a “pump & dump scheme”, not very different from his tax fraud plan.
Mu8sk is gone - don't let the door hit ya in the ass, son - BUT the damage is done and probably a lot of DOGE hirelings are still imbedded in various agencies. It will take years of good government to undo the damage. Assuming we get our government back at all. I think if the Court holds with the Constitution, the military will too. If the courts, and the Court, fold we will have soldiers patrolling our cities and elections on permanent hold.
So, Musk and his BB gang still have all of the data they shouldn't have and no one is doing anything about it? I would hope that data has been secured and no one who doesn't have clearance no longer has access. In the meantime, what is Musk and his BB gang doing with all of info they illegally obtained? Scary stuff!
The only good to come of this is that musk will be hated by the left and maga. That's not an easy task to accomplish! I hope you are able to replay your live gathering for us not living near DC. Good luck!
I think the media story is not correct on this. Musk Is Not Being Cast Out.
He is only leaving because the Tesla shareholder meeting is happening in June very soon. The board has the ability to remove him as CEO. A lot of people want him out from the company and he is making a pretend major announced leaving to fool everyone.
He has all the data he wanted on Americans and he will use it to cheat on future elections as he may have already done on the prior election and he will use it to cheat for his businesses as he already knows now all the competitive bids of all his people that were against him for everything he wants to do and his billionaire friends
This is takeover of the United States by billionaires and they are going nowhere
Months ago, I predicted Musk would be out by June 1. I can usually resist wallowing in being right about something, but these days I'll take what small wins I can get.
"The point was never to make the government work better; the point was to make it obey. " An apt summary of Trump's regime.
https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/05/opm-merit-hiring-plan-includes-bipartisan-reforms-politicized-new-test/405687/?oref=ge-home-top-story
And that was his game the entire time. It’s scary to think about what he plans to do with our data, since he paid around $300+ million to get it. And, I’m certain that he would never setup backdoor access to all those government networks and servers, since he’s such a honest person… right??? (Hint: he did setup accounts to continue accessing the government networks and we already know that he has given the Russians the logins)
Even if we flip the House and Senate in 2026 and the WH in 2028, it is going to take decades to clean up all the “criming”.
The NYT wrote a story today about how Palantir is aggregating data from various federal agencies on Americans. Make if that what you will …
Loved the TACO hat on Jim Acosta!
It’s beyond frightening to think of the amount of personal data Musk accumulated and what he’s going to do with it, has already done with it, or who he’s sold it to.
He got all the data he wanted. He got rid of government agencies and employees who dared push back against him. He can now take all that data, use it for his own purposes, push competitors out of the way, and make even more money. He was never about effective governance- this was simply a way of lining his own pockets.
Sorry, Arugula, I posted my comment before I read yours. You've said it better! ; )
Olivia, please bring this great group to Chicago!! The Bulwark was just here this week (Sarah, Tim, JVL, and special guest Adam Kinzinger) and they sold out a beautiful Northside 950 seat theater in 72 hours! I know your group would easily do the same!
Mush a genius, maybe .. but then he is also dumb as a box of rocks .. thinking he was sooo powerful he could convince, change, modify the asshole orange felon ..
I don't think that was ever the point.
"Musk tried to play the role of a reformer,..."
No. IMO, an effort to reform was never what Muck's presence was about, at least, on his end. It was ALL about the data and the access. As Olivia suggests, mountains of info have been turned over to the Russians. Muck accessed details about competitive bids on services and products he wants to provide the government. He's got personal banking info on tens of millions of people. In short, all the stats on everyone and everything, basically. The avenues to monetization of this incalculable treasure trove are endless. The back doors installed in all the systems will assure that info continues to stream in to the server farm(s) where he's keeping it. And it all gives him POWER, to the nth degree.
The much-publicized expense cutting and now the public spat with Dump....all kabuki. Muck got what he was after, so it's time for his exit. Knowing, of course, that he can reel Dump back in whenever he wants to.
I don’t think the spat with Trump is Kabuki: some decisions from the WH could harm his businesses (I’ll believe Tariffgate is over in a few months, once SCOTUS makes a decision on it). Also because of Trump’s non-stop grift these past few months, he doesn’t need Musks money to primary whoever he wants; which means that Musks lost his quid proquo power and he’s not going to like that.
Yes, some WH decisions could harm his businesses, theoretically. But Muck has already destroyed or defanged the agencies that were going after him, so he's safe on many counts. Plus which, he now has all his competitors' info about pending government contracts. And if Dump tried to, say, order the removal of Starlink as a communications provider, he'd create a disaster, as the system is ubiquitous across government entities, including the military.
The monetary quid pro quo....well, we know that the first rule in finance is to always use OPM, and I'm sure that Roy Cohn drummed that into Dump. Sure, Dump could just invent another lie to bring the money flowing into his PACs, but much better if Muck is kicking in the coin. OTOH, the crypto grift could crash at any time, so it could be that Dump will go that route to underwrite primaries---you may be right on that, bigly.
I’m not sure why Trump would try to hurt Musk now: like any old narcissist, he’s done using him so now he’s discarding him. Like he did with Bannon when he needed the MAGA votes.
The crypto grift will not crash: there will always be bugs ready to burst into flames to get closer to the flame as proved by the dinner last week. And if (big if) that ended, there’s always the pardons for pay courtesy of SCOTUS immunity gift.
So basically, I think Musk got genuinely butt hurt by the sudden rejection (he went from running Cabinet meetings to getting ghosted by them 😂) but I can’t see any of them trying to hurt each other now.
If I read correctly, Bea, it was your suggestion that WH decisions could harm Muck's businesses. FWIW, I don't think Dump would go after him unless Muck indulges in a direct, public humiliation. If that happened, there'd be a scorched-earth battle.
As someone smarter than I am pointed out, the crypto ponzi schemes could fall victim to a single talented hacker. Or, a single large investor could start dumping the meme coins or the currency and start a run. Dump's holdings could be worthless in the space of a day or two. He'd still get the transaction fees, but otherwise, the value would evaporate. I wouldn’t cry.
I dunno. Muck may have had his fee-fees bruised, but I'd say it's more of an ego thing. That's what psychopaths are about. I can see him lashing out at anybody who disses him. Wouldn’t be surprised if Bessent pays for that shouting match, somewhere down the line.
My point is that he’s lost the leverage he had in the WH and decisions like tariffs will hurt his businesses too. Of course the data he got from the Doge access is hard to fathom. It’s totally an ego thing!! And I also agree it would be scorched-earth battle and I don’t think either of them is willing to do that: they’re not the besties they were 3 months ago but I really don’t think the spat is performative either.
I could be wrong on the crypto thing but my understanding is that it doesn’t matter if the value of his cryptoshit collapses now; it’s the trading fees that ensure the regular flow of cash. The ownership of the token is largely concentrated in two Trump owned entities, which together hold 80% of the coins remaining after the Initial Coin Offering. In fact it already has: “A forensic analysis commissioned by The New York Times concluded that 813,294 wallets lost $2 billion by trading the coin while the president's company and partners profited about $100 million from trading fees. According to Fortune, "Less than three weeks after its release, Trump’s memecoin has produced more losers than winners. For every dollar in trading fees the Trump crypto creators raked in, investors lost $20."
It’s a “pump & dump scheme”, not very different from his tax fraud plan.
Well said Olivia, well said!
Mu8sk is gone - don't let the door hit ya in the ass, son - BUT the damage is done and probably a lot of DOGE hirelings are still imbedded in various agencies. It will take years of good government to undo the damage. Assuming we get our government back at all. I think if the Court holds with the Constitution, the military will too. If the courts, and the Court, fold we will have soldiers patrolling our cities and elections on permanent hold.
Now the question is just what is Musk going to do with all the data he scooped
up with his minions?
So, Musk and his BB gang still have all of the data they shouldn't have and no one is doing anything about it? I would hope that data has been secured and no one who doesn't have clearance no longer has access. In the meantime, what is Musk and his BB gang doing with all of info they illegally obtained? Scary stuff!
Make no mistake here! This is a case of a rat jumping off of a ship! Musk sees the writing on the wall.
…with Stephen Miller’s wife! And you worked with her? How awful!
Are they off to TX together?
The only good to come of this is that musk will be hated by the left and maga. That's not an easy task to accomplish! I hope you are able to replay your live gathering for us not living near DC. Good luck!
I think the media story is not correct on this. Musk Is Not Being Cast Out.
He is only leaving because the Tesla shareholder meeting is happening in June very soon. The board has the ability to remove him as CEO. A lot of people want him out from the company and he is making a pretend major announced leaving to fool everyone.
He has all the data he wanted on Americans and he will use it to cheat on future elections as he may have already done on the prior election and he will use it to cheat for his businesses as he already knows now all the competitive bids of all his people that were against him for everything he wants to do and his billionaire friends
This is takeover of the United States by billionaires and they are going nowhere
Months ago, I predicted Musk would be out by June 1. I can usually resist wallowing in being right about something, but these days I'll take what small wins I can get.
Off to shred some chicken for my tacos.