Trump and Musk jointly interviewed: "Like two brothers"
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Trump and Musk jointly interviewed: "Like two brothers"
Trump and Musk exchanged lavish praise for each other during the hour-long interview.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Wu Yu, Jinshi Data
On Tuesday night, Eastern US time, Fox News aired an exclusive interview with U.S. President Trump and billionaire Musk, who are aggressively cutting federal government spending. Host Sean Hannity lavished praise on the two men, who in turn heaped compliments on each other.
As this interview took place, Musk's role and influence within the Trump administration are coming under increasing scrutiny. Below are key moments from the one-hour interview.
"Feels like interviewing two brothers"
Seated side by side, Trump praised Musk's intellect and business acumen. He claimed the media tried to "drive a wedge between us," insisting that their relationship is very good.
Trump called the world's richest man "actually a really great businessman," saying Musk and his "100 geniuses" ensured the implementation of his executive orders—though Trump did not say Musk was the mastermind behind those orders. "He gets things done," Trump said.
Musk described his role in implementing Trump's executive orders as one of "technical support."
He showered praise on Trump. "I love the president. I want to make that clear," Musk said. "I think President Trump is a good person."
"The president has been attacked so unfairly by the media—it’s really absurd," he continued. "Having spent a lot of time with the president on this, I have never once seen him do anything petty, cruel, or wrong. Not once."
The two mocked critics' claims that Musk has usurped Trump's presidential authority. Hannity said, "I feel like I'm interviewing two brothers."
During the 2024 election cycle, Musk spent at least $288 million to help elect Trump and other Republican candidates.
Musk said he would have supported Trump in the 2024 election anyway, but an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania last July accelerated the process. After the incident, he publicly backed Trump and shared on his social media platform X a video of Trump raising his bloodied fist at a rally.
DOGE's cost-cutting plan
Trump claimed that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Musk, will cut "hundreds of billions" of dollars in "fraud" and other forms of waste from the federal budget—a figure far higher than most experts consider plausible.
Jessica Rieder, senior fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute, noted that while Musk claimed on X to have already identified over $50 billion in alleged waste and fraud, further investigation revealed the actual figure is closer to $4 billion.
Budget experts remain highly skeptical of claims that hundreds of billions in waste and fraud exist annually.
The Washington Post reported last week that DOGE's own social media-posted data on Social Security databases showed only $6 billion in total annual waste. Of that, $4 billion came from a proposed cap on indirect research costs paid by the National Institutes of Health to universities, medical centers, and other grant recipients—a cap that has since been blocked by a judge.
Musk will avoid conflicts of interest
Trump told Hannity that if any of Musk's advisory work for the federal government presents a conflict with his commercial activities, "he won't be involved."
"I've never asked the president for anything," Musk said, adding that he will recuse himself if any conflict of interest arises.
On Tuesday, when asked about the role of the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder, Trump made similar remarks to reporters. Musk likened his current situation to "getting a rectal exam every day."
As The Washington Post reported, Musk's active involvement in White House affairs without relinquishing his business roles creates an unusually ambiguous arrangement that raises many questions.
Pledge not to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
In the interview, Trump pledged not to touch Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits, even as Republicans seek to cut federal spending and pass a roughly $5 trillion tax bill. He reiterated this campaign promise, which complicates congressional Republicans' efforts to extend the 2017 tax cuts.
These three social programs represent the largest portions of annual federal spending. Without cutting these benefits, it will be nearly impossible for Republicans to achieve both deep tax cuts and significant spending reductions.
Trump told Hannity: "Social Security won't be touched—except for fraud and such—and in fact it will be strengthened, not cut. Medicare, Medicaid… none of these will be affected in any way."
Reiterating claims of USAID corruption
During the interview, Hannity displayed a chart on screen alleging "suspicious spending" by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—including several claims already debunked.
"All this money flows overseas. It's not being spent here in America, not used to improve schools or maintain law and order," Hannity commented.
The Washington Post investigated several alleged USAID expenditures mentioned in a recent Trump administration press release. Fox News' chart referenced foreign aid supposedly funding an Irish "diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) musical," a "transgender opera" in Colombia, and "transgender comic books" in Peru—all inaccurate claims.
The chart also mentioned funding aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in Serbian workplaces. This claim is largely accurate.
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