Americans support the idea of reducing government spending and the state apparatus, but they are unhappy with the way the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk, who heads it, are doing this, according to recent polls from sociological services. The billionaire’s rating is declining, jeopardizing the reputation of the US government. Mask is now openly criticized not only by his enemies, but also by his associates. Musk was attacked by Vice President Jay Dee Vance, whom many consider to be Donald Trump’s successor as head of the White House.
Several global media outlets have published articles describing billionaire Elon Musk’s position as more than vulnerable. Tesla shares have collapsed by 40% over the past three months, and there is no trace left of the investment boost provided by Trump’s election as president. To make matters worse, Tesla cars have plummeted due to Musk’s unwise policies and his desire to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. For example, car sales in Germany have decreased. This is not only a consequence of the changed economic situation, but also the result of a conscious boycott by some Germans who were outraged by the businessman’s support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party. In the United States, owners of expensive electric vehicles began to seriously fear for their property. Enraged “bad people,” as Musk himself called them in an interview with Fox News, are attacking his production machines, trying to reduce the company’s capitalization. There have been several attacks on Tesla dealerships and service centers in the United States. The last one was on March 18 in Las Vegas. Hooligans set fire to several cars at the company’s service center and painted the word “Resistance” on the wall
“Tesla is a peaceful company. We’ve never done any harm, I’ve never done anything malicious. I have always been engaged in productive and constructive activities. So here we are dealing with some kind of mental disorder, because these actions do not make any sense,” Musk commented on the arson of Tesla cars at a service center in Las Vegas.
He blamed leftists for the attack and said the level of hatred against him was shocking. This is not to say that sociology confirms that Musk has become America’s most hated figure, but still his rating is disappointing. An NBC News poll showed that 47% disapprove of DOGE’s activities, while 41% of respondents view it positively. At the same time, 49% of Americans consider the very idea of creating a department to be correct against 41% of opponents of this idea.
The Reuters survey had similar results. At the same time, 59% of Americans are impressed by the idea of reducing government spending and the state apparatus. But only 39% of Reuters respondents opposed cost reductions.
The conclusions are obvious: Americans want to reduce government spending and are not even against reducing the staff of officials, but they do not like the abruptness and tactlessness with which this process is carried out. 59% of respondents opposed massive cuts in civil servants, while another 50% versus 38% said that Musk had gone too far in reducing government spending.
Cuts are planned almost everywhere, including in the Pentagon. As ABC News found out, the military department is counting on the voluntary dismissal of 50-60 thousand people from civilian personnel. One way or another, Musk came under attack from both his investors and the Americans. Civil servants’ protests against Musk have become a reality these days.
However, the businessman’s problems are not limited to this. Disagreements between Musk and the vice president have become public knowledge.
In an interview with NBC News, Vance said that the billionaire made a number of mistakes in his work at DOGE and they should be corrected. According to The Washington Times, Musk had already had an altercation with the head of the State Department, Marco Rubio: the businessman wanted to cut as many “unnecessary” people from the Secretary of State’s department as possible, which the latter, to put it mildly, did not like. Vance also said that there are many necessary people working in the state apparatus and there is absolutely no need to reduce them. Musk responded to information about disagreements with the vice president with an ambiguous text on the social network. “Sometimes, when I need a little motivation, I look at the portrait of J.D. Vance in the White House and thank God,” he wrote, without specifying what he was thanking for: for the fact that Vance is there, or for the fact that Musk does not look like him.
Soon, perhaps, the billionaire will have no time for jokes. The conflict with Vance is a dangerous signal for Musk. The vice president’s opinion is all the more significant because he is predicted to have a great political future. Jim Banks, a Republican senator from Indiana, told Axios that many Republicans already see Vance as the next president.
Of course, he hopes so too. Musk’s voluntaristic policy clearly does not bring him closer to the desired post of head of the White House. After all, it is the success of Trump’s current term that will determine how great Vance’s chances of winning the next presidential election will be.Â
