Here comes the Trump-Musk quid pro quo
The same man who wants to cut Medicaid and SNAP and who wants to deprive us of medical research is all set to spend $400 million taxpayer dollars on “Armored Tesla” vehicles. If you still don’t get what Donald Trump is about, you must be the daftest person on earth. As always, Republicans are ready to spend if it benefits them, but if someone wants something to benefit the citizens of this country, they want to start screaming about the deficit. Once the State Department realized they were advertising a blatant conflict of interest, they changed the name to “Armored Electric Vehicles,” to remove the name of Tesla. Who else makes armored electric vehicles? This name change fools no one.
The State Department must make these documents open to the public, which has likely prompted the change. Republicans think we’re all a bunch of ignorant fools who can’t figure out what’s going on here. Under the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988, agencies must make contracting opportunities available to anyone but specifically to “small businesses, small, disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.” So, under which category does Elon Musk and Tesla fall? None of the above. Trump is merely trying to reward the man who sank millions of dollars into his campaign. That’s how this works. You wash my back, I’ll wash yours, but this type of quid pro quo belongs nowhere in the government. Not to mention that Musk is the alleged leader of DOGE. He’s cutting government programs that will hurt people while lining his pockets with the money they save. This transaction is such a big conflict that Stevie Wonder can see it.
As the media usually does, TIME reached out to the State Department for clarification as to whether Tesla remains the awardee of this contract. Even as Musk’s company is being considered for a contract to which he is not entitled, he is, according to TIME, wielding influence across several federal agencies’ budgets. He also owns companies that have interests in federal regulations and government contracts, including Tesla and SpaceX. According to Musk, he is “very transparent” about his companies’ dealing with the federal government. If that’s “transparency,” we would love to see “opaque.” In other words, Musk is still lining his pockets, this time with taxpayer funds.
Donald Trump is, of course, covering (and lying) for Musk. TIME quoted Trump’s take: “If we thought there was a lack of transparency or a conflict of interest, we would not let him do that segment or look in that area.” Well, that’s apparently untrue, but it’s coming from Trump, so expect no less. Besides, Musk and Trump are taking good care of each other. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Musk is paying $10 million to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against X. They are filling each other’s pockets and laughing about it. Even as Musk “vows to root out the highest-paid corrupt D.C. bureaucrats,” he has become one himself. Who’s going to root him out?
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years