How do Americans feel about Elon Musk? This is a question you’ve probably pondered in the last few weeks following Trump's return to the White House, and now we have a pretty clear understanding.
The man who bought Twitter and transformed it into X has become besties with president Donald Trump, and is now an advisor of sorts who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has a mission to save taxpayers’ money and reduce US national debt, says Musk.
However, this has led to mass layers at multiple government agencies in recent weeks as a result of Musk’s cost-cutting measures.
A new CNN poll has revealed how Americans feel about Musk, who is becoming increasingly influential despite claiming he merely provides 'tech support' for the Trump administration (he even wore a t-shirt with this slogan emblazoned on it, just in case we didn’t get the memo).
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However, it seems a large number of people aren’t too happy with Musk’s most recent moves. Americans have a ‘largely negative view of Elon Musk’, CNN reports, and the majority of respondents said they disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, as the US president’s trade war has been linked to fears of a recession.
More than half of respondents, 53%, rated Musk negatively, while 35% said they have a positive view of the Tesla CEO, and 11% had no opinion. The data from the poll was collected from 1,206 US adults between 6-0 March, Forbes reports regarding the poll.
Musk’s approval rating is far below both the approval ratings for both Trump and Vice President JD Vance, with Trump’s at 45% and newfound meme star Vance at 33%.
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More than 60% said Musk has ‘neither the experience nor the judgement to carry out Trump’s sweeping changes to the federal government’. However, there is a divide in judgement among Trump supporters, with at least 75% of those who support the president, and less than 10% of those who have a negative opinion of Trump saying the SpaceX boss has the right judgement and experience, per CNN.
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Recently, Musk has had to contend with a boycott of his Tesla as a brand. Tesla’s shares fell more than 15% this week and stock analysts claimed the main reason behind the shocking slump was due to the fears about whether the brand could meet production targets, as well as a drop in sales, the BBC reported.
Trump, however, blamed ‘radical left lunatics’ boycotting the firm because of its association with Musk, who is becoming an increasingly controversial figure.
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Trump also said the boycott, which includes protests by an anti-Tesla group in front of the company’s showrooms, was ‘illegal’. However, The Guardian reports otherwise.
“Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!" Trump shared on his platform Truth Social on Tuesday morning.
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Gregory Robinson