Summary

Elon Musk suggested cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in a Fox News interview, citing debunked claims about fraud and linking benefits to illegal immigration.

He falsely claimed millions of deceased individuals remain in the Social Security system, a statement previously refuted by officials.

While Trump has promised not to cut entitlement programs, Musk’s remarks indicate they are under threat, potentially impacting millions of Americans.

His rhetoric echoes far-right conspiracy theories, raising concerns about his influence on policy discussions regarding social safety nets.

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[–] 145 points 1 year ago (5 children)

You know, Elon Musk is a person with a neck.

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    [–] 95 points 1 year ago (19 children)

    Touch that shit, I fucken dare you.

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  • [–] 109 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    If it gets out of hand Elmo will be left holding the bag and likely forced out. The Trump admin will continue on like nothing happened, they won't lose an ounce of support, and DOGE will just be a short footnote on our decline to fascism.

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  • [–] 41 points 1 year ago (2 children)
  • [–] 45 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    That's not optimism, it's the very real conclusion that Elon is the (miraculously unwitting) fall guy for all the bad shit they need done early on to facilitate everything else. They'll get to do the whole "we got rid of the bad eggs, we've tuned over a new leaf" thing that conservative politicians love to do when they kick out a fall guy.

    This time next year he's going to be shouting on some fuckhead podcast about how he was used. I practically guarantee it.

    Well that or Elon successfully manages to do what he thinks will happen and manages to take full control

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  • [–] 38 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Counterpoint: There's a significant chance that Musk has dirt on Trump. He literally has access to Trump's old DM's from Twitter. There's a good chance that when he was forced to buy Twitter he needed to find something he could leverage out of the forced buy. Trump's DMs are easy pickings at that point, they were never encrypted. That's why they're called "Direct Messages" and not "Private Messages."

    Further, there's rampant speculation that Musk helped him steal the election, but that's a lot more loose and may not be a real thing. Musk having access to Trump's past DMs on Twitter is basically a fact.

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  • [–] 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I 100% expect him to throw Elmo under the bus like he has with every other person that’s been on his side. He won’t really even need to try, his supporters will do it for him because they can’t handle a reality where they were wrong about the Orange One

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    [+] 84 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)
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    [–] 79 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    We should use the chopping block on him, and repurpose his wealth to fund government programs. Especially for repaying federal employees for this shitshow.

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  • [–] 48 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Where do I get a refund on my social security payments I've put in my entire adult life?

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    [–] 44 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I sincerely hope these cuts do not happen, but if they do, I hope we see a massive "grey wave" of large scale protests from older folks who rely on these programs. They worked and paid into Social Security their whole lives and deserve that money.

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  • [–] 34 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    The thing is, the elders have all bought in to this idea that there's no money for social security and medicare not because it's been whittled away and underfunded and means tested to death for forty years, but rather there's just massive, massive fraud, and everybody's stealing from social security before it gets to them. So, they're probably all cheering this push to cut entitlements because they think that all these fraudsters will be kicked off, and surely they won't be kicked off, surely their social security benefits will actually be a good amount once all those mooches are kicked off. When it does happen to them, and it will, they won't realize that it was by design, they'll all be stunned that Trump and Musk made this "mistake" and swept them up in the cuts.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    And if we have elections again, they’ll thumb a ride from outside of their tent by the highway to catch a ride to the polling booths where they will vote for Trump’s third term? I’m thinking some of them will have to figure it out by then.

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    [–] 40 points 1 year ago
    [–] 38 points 1 year ago

    No way, a horrible person admits they probably might do something horrible after establishing a strong track record of doing horrible things?! I am SHOCKED. Who could have seen this horrible administration known for doing horrible things doing something horrible like this?

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  • [+] 36 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
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    [+] 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 child)
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    [–] 26 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    So, do I get back everything I paid into it for the past 40 years? Is that part of the plan? If not, who gets that money, let me guess.

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    [–] 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    But but they said they would never do this. Stupid fools.

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    [–] 24 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    "Admits".

    Haven't demons like Paul Ryan had their entire political career motivated by ending Social Security? It's not like the Republicans' desire to kill old people is any secret...

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  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    This is going to disproportionately affect MAGA voters.

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  • [–] 27 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    My mom when the CoL bump to her SSDI survivors benefit bumped her over the poverty line and out of Medicaid eligibility:

    "Because I got an extra $50 a month, I now have to pay $100 a month for insurance, plus copays! This is ridiculous!"

    My mom when I pointed out that those thresholds haven't been touched in decades because that would be helping people and helping people is bad:

    "Well, I guess I can't really complain, I've been treated well."

    Do not underestimate the vast amounts of copium reserves harbored by the brainwashed.

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  • [+] 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
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    [–] 19 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Musk's head is gonna be on the chopping block if he manages to make 20+ million Americans instantly homeless.

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    [–] 16 points 1 year ago

    Elon Musk suggested cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in a Fox News interview

    February 11, 4 weeks ago:

    https://www.newsweek.com/trump-administration-collapse-james-carville-2035164

    Trump Administration Will 'Collapse' in 30 Days, Says James Carville

    Carville advised Democrats to "play opossum" for now.

    "This whole thing is collapsing. It doesn't need Elizabeth Warren in somebody screaming to pacify some progressive advocacy groups in Washington," the former top adviser to President Bill Clinton said. "Hold your fire. It's going to be easy pickings here in six weeks, just lay back."

    I would have said that Carville was wrong, but if they do start taking big whacks at entitlement programs, this might actually manage it.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Lets see how the Trumpists react when they notice that their social security checks no longer come and the medicaid no longer pays for their vital medications.

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