Musk waves chainsaw in charm offensive
OUT FOR MORE CUTS Tech billionaire Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw he received from Argentina President Javier Milei at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Feb. 20. —AP
OXON HILL, MARYLAND—Billionaire Elon Musk appeared at a conservative gathering outside Washington on Thursday waving a chainsaw in the air, showing openness to auditing the Federal Reserve and accusing Democrats of “treason.”
Musk, the Tesla CEO who has become perhaps President Donald Trump’s most influential adviser, spoke about his crusade to cut government spending and downsize the federal workforce with the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The entrepreneur was first announced earlier that day as a speaker, drawing huge cheers from activists gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Before his appearance, Musk met with Argentine President Javier Milei whom he had frequently praised.
After Musk appeared onstage, wearing shades and his trademark black “Make America great again” hat, he said Milei had a gift for him.
The Argentine leader then walked onstage with the red chainsaw and passed it to Musk. The chainsaw was engraved with Milei’s slogan, “Viva la libertad, carajo,” which is Spanish for “Long live liberty, damn it.”
“This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,” Milei said.
Musk slammed the previous Biden administration for its immigration policies, specifically naming an app that was used by nearly 1 million people to be allowed into the US on two-year permits with eligibility to work.
Democrats’ ‘scam’
He accused Biden and Democrats of doing that as an “investment” to get more support in swing states.
“A lot of people don’t quite appreciate that this was an actual real scam at scale to tilt the scales of democracy in America,” Musk said before Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked him, “Treason?”
Musk responded, “Treason.”
When Schmitt asked him if he would consider auditing the Federal Reserve, Musk responded, “Yeah, sure, while we’re at it.”
“Waste is pretty much everywhere,” he said.
The billionaire joked that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has told him he is worried about his security and said he was open to ideas on how to improve his safety measures.
‘Superman’
“President Bukele from El Salvador, who managed to put in prison like a hundred thousand murderous thugs, and he called me. ‘I am worried about your security,’” he quoted the Central American leader as telling him. “I’m like, ‘Dude, you are worried about my security?’”
When asked to describe what is like inside his mind, Musk replied: “My mind is a storm. It’s a storm.”
