It’s quite surprising, yet somewhat commendable, that Elon Musk is willing to admit his slip-ups. On a peculiar Tuesday, Musk—often seen as a shadow leader due to significant political donations—held an unusual press event right in the Oval Office. During this, he sort of confessed to making mistakes, while President Trump was more of a silent observer, seated behind his desk after a brief introduction.
Musk’s young son with musician Grimes, known as X, was also present. As children are wont to do, X captivated everyone’s attention, although this was less of a heartwarming moment reminiscent of John-John Kennedy and more on the annoying side. Perched on Musk’s shoulders, X was busy disrupting, from poking Musk’s ears to smudging the Resolute Desk and even telling the president to leave.
When a reporter questioned Musk about allowing the Trump administration’s false claims about the U.S. Agency for International Development’s condom funding to Gaza, Musk’s casual response was telling. “Some things I say might be wrong and need correcting. No one is perfect; mistakes happen, but we’ll be prompt in fixing them,” he noted, embodying a strange irony given his outspoken views against unappointed officials.
This sparked memories of a classic “Dr. Strangelove” moment where Gen. “Buck” Turgidson, played by George C. Scott, cavalierly suggests nuclear war to President Merkin Muffley, portrayed by Peter Sellers.
But how did this false narrative about condoms in Gaza even start? During her first briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt inaccurately informed the press about an impending $50 million expenditure on Gaza condoms, allegedly thwarted by Trump and Musk’s governmental team. Soon, Trump exaggerated the figure to $100 million, falsely tying it to Hamas.
CNN’s Daniel Dale clarified that USAID’s global condom aid was around $8 million for fiscal year 2023. Specifically, Mozambique received an estimated $5.4 million in contraceptives, unrelated to condoms despite its high HIV rates. This isn’t just a slip-up; it was a deliberate lie meant to sow doubt about critical foreign aid programs.
Musk’s approach here was to act first and think second, if at all. This method also played out when Musk wrongly claimed on X that FEMA was misusing funds to house migrants in luxury New York hotels.
“The @DOGE team found FEMA sent $59M to luxury hotels for illegal migrants in New York,” Musk posted. “This spending contradicted the law and the President’s orders, misusing disaster relief funds!” Fact-checkers from various outlets quickly debunked this. FEMA’s funds, not disaster relief money, went to NYC for migrant housing at an average cost far from luxurious. Despite this, FEMA retracted $80 million and dismissed federal employees involved.
These fabricated tales, designed to stir public unrest and bolster Musk’s misleading ventures, ignore factual accuracy. Musk’s claim of operating transparently with his so-called “nerd army” of tech enthusiasts is his boldest falsehood yet.
“I welcome scrutiny, like a daily exam,” Musk said, suggesting his wealth hasn’t matured him. His attempt at humility feels hollow without any real evidence backing it.
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