Will Musk be the next Trump?

[Brian Peacock]

DOGE fired Dr. Fatima (YouTube). In the video she talks about the real-world impacts on having research grants cancelled mid-program.

[Svartalf]

I don't know who she is, but if she worked with them, she can't be a good person
who is she actually? all the sources I find for her are yher youtube channel, that I'm not ready to consult right now (and I want other sources first), social network things that I won't touch with a mile long pole, and a reddit that has had most of the stuff censored out...

[Brian Peacock]

I don't know who she is, but if she worked with them, she can't be a good person
who is she actually? all the sources I find for her are yher youtube channel, that I'm not ready to consult right now (and I want other sources first), social network things that I won't touch with a mile long pole, and a reddit that has had most of the stuff censored out...

She's an astro-physicist Phd who was running a science communication and education research program. It's not important who she is - but she runs a very small YT channel covering the intersection of Culture and Science. What she talks about is how having the funding suddenly cut impacts researchers and students. Access to the govt funding portal suddenly blocked, leaving no way to meet outstanding expenses, wages or other related costs; getting a phone call from HR in the middle of a lecture telling her from that moment on she was no longer employed; students losing course credits with no time or funding available for them to make it up elsewhere; access to the building, her research materials and her dept email instantly revoked, so she can't even tell colleagues or the other institutions she was working with what's going on, and with no chance to say goodbye to friends and staff etc. This is happening all over US academia at the mo.

[Svartalf]

well, I'll look it up soon then, looks it might be actually interesting

[Tero]

"I'm your king Arthur....I didn't for you!"

"On Truth Social, where Trump is known for sharing his unfiltered thoughts, the president used to mention Musk every few days but now has not posted about him in more than a month. Trump’s fundraising operation has largely ceased sending emails that name-check the Tesla CEO. The billionaire’s name, once a staple of White House briefings, now hardly gets mentioned at all. Even members of Congress have essentially dropped him from their newsletters."

"Musk’s shrinking presence could have political benefits for the GOP. Public polling has revealed him to be increasingly unpopular — far more so than Trump. Early last month, Republicans also lost a major Wisconsin judicial race where Musk had become both a major funder and a campaign issue. And in Washington, the cost-slashing efforts of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have continued, but have taken a political back seat to tariffs and the budget fight."

Democrats were eager to focus on Musk as the symbol for the damage that the second Trump administration was wracking on the system. Anti-Musk feeling were decisive in the large win Democrats achieved in the Wisconsin supreme court race in April. They hoped to use him as the "bogey-man" in 2026. Maybe he still will fulfill that role?

“Ultimately, the issue here was never about Elon Musk, it was about Elon Musk-ism,” said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist. “He wrote their playbook, and it’s not about theoretical blame, it’s about real-world damage that he and Trump have caused that will be litigated all through the midterms.”

"Some Republicans have come to see Musk as politically toxic, which Democrats have been trying to leverage. First, there’s the polling: voters tend to view Musk far less favorably than Trump. Compared to a few months ago, the Tesla CEO’s approval rating has dropped across most groups, including independents and voters without college degrees."

“The public supported the effort to end wasteful Washington spending, but they did not support the way that it was done,” said GOP pollster Frank Luntz. “His mission to cut the waste from Washington was certainly helpful, but the language he used wasn’t.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/1 ... d-00355313

[Brian Peacock]

"Muskism"? Sounds fishy.

[Svartalf]

smells bad too

[Joe]

I always thought the name Elon Musk sounded like a cheap men's cologne from the '70's.

[L'Emmerdeur]

Eau d'ick

Properly I suppose something like eau de beurk, but I like my bastard version better.

[Brian Peacock]

The stench of our time.

[pErvinalia]

Smells kind of fascisty.

[Svartalf]

money does not smell

[Tero]

Space X debris to fall down again:
SpaceX to attempt ninth launch of its massive Starship, with window opening at 7:30 pm ET tonight; previous two launches ended in failure (More) | Everything you need to know about SpaceX (More)
https://join1440.com/topics/spacex

[Tero]

SpaceX Starship 9 is now officially debris. The camera feed didn't even make it to reentry. Elon Musk has failed again.

[pErvinalia]

What a loser.