JD Vance recently dismissed all rumors suggesting that Elon Musk will get sidelined by Trump. Vance confirmed that Musk will “remain a friend and adviser” to both the President and the Vice President.
Musk would remain close to the administration even after serving 130 days as a special government employee. Rumors of Musk being sidelined first appeared on Politico. Regarding the rumors, Vance added that the billionaire “was not close to done” with his work at DOGE.
Vance added that Musk signed up to serve the administration for six months, and that’s in line with the billionaire’s own plans as well. He gave these comments during an appearance on Fox News after Democrats secured a crucial election win for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
In that particular election race, Musk had spent $20 million on campaigning and appeared in rallies wearing a cheese hat. The billionaire even handed out cheques of $1 million to voters.
Vance added, “Elon came in, we said we need you to make government efficient, shrink the bureaucracy that thwarts American people and also costs too much money.”
In the debunked post, Politico mentioned that Musk would be “stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man.”
Vance referred to these reports as “total fake news.”
Trump has no intentions of cutting ties with Elon Musk
Special government employees can work for 130 days in total per year. That’s slightly more than three months. However, SGEs are allowed to work throughout multiple years.
Musk does not really need a long-term formal role in the government when the President and VP consider him as their close adviser and aide. According to an earlier report by the New York Times, Trump “has no intention of cutting ties with the world’s richest man, even after he leaves government.”
According to the Washington Post, a familiar source clarified that Musk won’t be deterred by the setback in Wisconsin. The source added, “He’s still wanting to be heavily engaged in politics going forward.”
Recent polls show that Musk isn’t particularly popular among Americans
Musk, who is the richest person and also the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has gained a lot of attention for leading DOGE. However, it’s clear that most of the Americans aren’t happy with Musk’s recent decisions, according to recent polls.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll said that only 39% of Americans see Musk in a favorable light. For the remaining 57% of the participants, Musk is an unfavorable character. An even lesser percentage – 31% – agreed that Trump’s downsizing of federal government is justified or being done competently. This survey was conducted between 31 March – 2 April.
Similarly, a Marquette Law School national survey conducted between 17 March – 24 March states that 41% of Americans approve Musk’s actions as part of DOGE. In this survey, Musk’s favorability rating was also quite low. Only 38% of the participants considered him to be favorable.
Earlier last month, 54% of participants said that DOGE and Musk are harming the US, as part of a Quinnipiac University survey. Around 4 in every 10 participants agreed that Musk’s efforts are good for the country.
A Fox News national poll, on the other hand, recorded Musk’s approval rating at 40% with 58% of the respondents disapproving of his actions.
That is evident from the recent backlash that Musk has faced, with protests erupting at Tesla showrooms throughout the US and globally. Regardless of that, Trump wholeheartedly continues to praise Musk’s DOGE efforts. He said on Thursday, “he’s done a fantastic job. We found hundreds…of millions of dollars in fraud and abuse and waste and, they’re still….going strong.”
Republicans tend to have divided opinions. Some republicans have started criticizing Elon for being a political liability. Democrats have already been targeting and placing the billionaire in negative spotlight.
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