(no subject)

[lirazel]

*sigh*

My mom has drunk the DOGE kool-aid. Does anyone have a good debunker for the Fox News interview the world's richest man just did? She really wants me to watch it and I told her I would if she reads what I send her afterwards.

Comments

[slaymesoftly]

Ugh indeed. I'm so sorry. I don't know what he just said and wouldn't have seen Fox News anyway. I'm sure, whatever it was, there will some good rebuttals quite soon.

[lirazel]

Yeah. She's all like, "Yes, he's a terrible person, but he's a good businessman and we need government reform!" And I'm like, "I agree that we need government reform, but he is not the person to do it." Then we have a big argument. This is why I avoid talking about politics with her.

[muccamukk]

I'm trying to think. All the stuff I have is from angry leftists who assume their readers already bought in. I can't think of anyone doing a persuasion tack.

[lirazel]

Right? It's so hard to find stuff that doesn't have Suspicion with The Current Administration as its foundation!

[scripsi]

I don't, but I hope you find some!

[lirazel]

Thank you! <3

[ambyr]

Most of what I read about Musk is frankly too angry to be persuasive. This doesn't talk a lot about Musk specifically, but it is a look at past efforts at government right-sizing and the perils therein, which might be useful? https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/1237991516/planet-money-doge-government-size-rego

And here's a piece specifically about IRS cuts: https://www.propublica.org/article/how-doge-irs-cuts-will-cost-more-than-savings-trump-musk-deficit

Edited to add, again, this piece from Atlantic, although I'm not sure she'll find it persuasive (and you'll need to use a proxy to get through the paywall if you don't have an account): https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/doge-deficit-trump-elon/682227/

And here's some Social Security-specific reporting: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/03/24/social-security-fraud-doge-cuts-dead/
https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/trump-administration-doge-activities-risk-ssa-operations-and-security-of

[lirazel]

Most of what I read about Musk is frankly too angry to be persuasive.

Same!

Thank you for all the links! I will read them and see if there's something that might resonate in them.

[elisi]

I don't know what the interview said, but here's a link that should hopefully make an impact:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-musk-usaid-cuts-deaths-aids-hiv-b2708883.html

(It's such a grim world we live in.)

[lirazel]

God, that's so awful. Thank you for the link, though.