On Tuesday night, Fox News aired an exclusive interview with President Donald Trump and billionaire Musk, a duo who are making major cuts to federal spending. Host Sean Hannity had nothing but praise for the two men, who were also full of praise for each other.
The interview comes as Musk’s role and influence in the Trump administration is under increasing scrutiny. Here are the key moments from the hour-long interview.
“It’s like interviewing two brothers.”
Trump and Musk sat side-by-side, and Trump praised Musk’s talent and business acumen. He claimed the media was trying to “divide us” and insisted they had a great rapport.
Calling the world’s richest man “actually a very good businessman,” Trump said Musk and his “100 geniuses” have ensured the implementation of a series of his executive orders, but Trump did not say Musk was the brains behind them. “He gets things done,” Trump said.
Musk, on the other hand, described his role in implementing Trump’s executive orders as “technical support.”
He heaped praise on Trump. “I love the president. I want to make that clear,” Musk said. “I think President Trump is a good man.”
“The president has been so unfairly attacked in the media – it’s really outrageous,” he continued. “At this point, I’ve spent a lot of time with the president, and not once have I seen him do anything mean or cruel or wrong. Not once.”
The two mocked claims by some critics that Musk has usurped Trump’s authority as president. Hannity said , “I felt like I was interviewing two brothers.”
Musk has spent at least $288 million over the 2024 election cycle to help get Trump and other Republican candidates elected.
Musk said he would have supported Trump in the 2024 election, but the stabbing in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July accelerated the process. He publicly endorsed Trump after the incident at the time and shared a video of Trump raising a bloody fist at a rally on his social media platform X.
The US government’s efficiency department’s money-saving scheme
Trump said the Musk-led U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would cut “hundreds of billions” of dollars in “fraud” and other forms of waste from the federal budget – a figure far higher than most experts believe is reasonable. far higher than most experts believe is reasonable.
Jessica Riedel, a senior fellow at the right-wing think tank Manhattan Institute, said Musk claimed on X that he had uncovered more than $50 billion in alleged waste and fraud, but further investigation of those claims revealed that the actual figure was closer to $4 billion.
Budget experts are extremely skeptical that there are “hundreds of billions” of dollars in waste and fraud each year.
The Washington Post reported last week that DOGE’s Social Security database, published on social media, showed waste totaling only $6 billion a year. Of that, $4 billion came from a proposed cap on NIH research overhead payments to universities, medical centers, and other grant recipients, which was halted by a judge.
Musk to recuse himself from conflicts of interest
Trump told Hannity that if Musk’s work advising the federal government presents a conflict of interest with any of his business activities, “he will not be involved.”
“I’ve never asked the president for anything, “ Musk said, adding that he would recuse himself if any conflict of interest existed.
Trump made similar comments to reporters on Tuesday when asked about the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder’s role. Musk compared his current situation to “getting a rectal exam every day.”
As the Washington Post reports, Musk is actively working in the White House without abandoning his business role, a highly unusual arrangement that raises many questions.
Promising not to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
In the interview, Trump promised that he would not touch Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits as Republicans seek to cut federal spending and enact a roughly $5 trillion tax bill. He re-emphasized that campaign promise, which will make it more difficult for congressional Republicans to push for an extension of the 2017 tax cuts.
Those three Social Security programs are the largest portion of annual federal spending. Without cutting benefits in those programs, it would be nearly impossible for Republicans to achieve the twin goals of significant tax cuts and spending cuts.
Trump told Hannity, “Social Security is not going to be touched except for fraud and things like that – instead it’s going to be strengthened, not cut. Medicare, Medicaid …… none of that will be affected in any way.”
Reaffirming corruption at USAID
During the interview, Hannity displayed a chart on the screen purporting to show “questionable expenditures” by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – which included a number of disproven spending claims.
“All of that goes to foreign countries. The money is not being spent here in the United States, it’s not being spent on improving schools, maintaining law and order,” Hannity commented.
The Washington Post investigated several alleged USAID expenditures mentioned in a recent Trump administration press release. A Fox News chart mentions alleged spending to fund Ireland’s “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Musical,” Colombia’s “Transgender Opera,” and Peru’s “Transgender Comic Book “ of foreign aid – all of which are inaccurate claims.
The chart also mentions funds used to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace in Serbia. This statement is largely accurate.
