President Donald Trump drew laughs from the audience after making a comment about “unelected bureaucrats” with billionaire Elon Musk in attendance.
Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, largely to tout his administration’s accomplishments since he took office in January. During the speech, he praised Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for cutting government spending.
At one point, Trump declared: “The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over!”
Some lawmakers were spotted smiling as laughter could be heard among the audience. Reporter Grace Panetta wrote on social media platform X that many Democrats “pointed” at Musk after Trump’s comment.
The comment immediately prompted Democrats and pundits to troll the president on social media because Musk, one of Trump’s most powerful advisers, is unelected.
“I agree with Donald Trump that an unelected bureaucrat should be fired. Let’s start with Elon Musk,” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote on X.
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly said Trump’s comment was “almost laughable.”
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich also called out the irony of Trump’s remark.
“All of the Republicans who for years railed about ‘unelected bureaucrats’ destroying the government are awfully quiet as an unelected bureaucrat destroys the government,” he said on X.
And U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle tweeted: “Trump said, ‘The days of being ruled by unelected bureaucrats is over.’Meanwhile, shadow president and unelected billionaire Elon Musk watches from above, making sure Trump sticks to the script.”
Even Dave Portnoy, the owner and founder of Barstool Sports who endorsed Trump, criticized Trump’s comment.
“Gotta admit this one didn’t quite land since Elon is basically Co-President,” he said on X.
The White House has said that Musk is a “special government employee.” His brainchild, DOGE, is tasked with cutting federal government spending despite it not being a government agency. It has already fired hundreds of federal employees since Trump took office earlier this year.
Trump, who has billionaire adviser Elon Musk orchestrating his efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government, said he is working to “reclaim democracy from this unaccountable bureaucracy” and threatened federal workers anew with firings if they resist his agenda.
Musk, who was seated in the House gallery, received a pair of standing ovations from Republicans in the chamber, as Trump exaggerated and shared false claims about alleged government “abuse” uncovered by the Tesla and SpaceX founder and his team of disrupters.
Trump repeated false claims that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments, prompting some Democrats to shout, “Not true!” and “Those are lies!”
Trump spoke at a critical juncture in his presidency, as voters who returned him to the White House on his promise to fix inflation are instead finding economic chaos. All the gains the S&P 500 have made since Election Day are now gone, while consumer sentiment surveys show the public sees inflation as worsening. For a president who believes that announcements of corporate investments can boost attitudes about the economy, the speech was suddenly a test of his ability to rebuild confidence in his economic leadership.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stories by Lauren Sforza
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.