The hosts of The View speculated on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has the power to destroy Trump’s legislative agenda, and that the president should be “afraid” of him.
“Trump should be afraid of him,” Behar said of Musk.
Farah Griffin, a former Trump White House official-turned media commentator, echoed the sentiment, warning that Musk’s wealth and influence could scare off Republican lawmakers.
“Elon Musk could tank Donald Trump’s entire legislative agenda,” she said.
The latest round of hysteria was sparked by Musk’s criticism of the “one big, beautiful bill,” a Trump-backed proposal combining tax cuts, energy investment, and border security.
Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination” on X and shamed any lawmaker who supports it.
I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.
This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.
Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2025
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk wrote on Tuesday. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
He reiterated on Wednesday with another post: “A new spending bill should be drafted that doesn’t massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS.”
Musk’s sharp criticism is informed by his brief tenure in the Trump administration, where he served as a “special government employee” overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency. In that role, Musk spent months focused on cutting government waste — efforts he now sees as being reversed by the bill he’s denounced. He has long warned that unchecked government spending threatens the nation’s economic stability and could lead the country toward fiscal ruin.
The backlash has prompted a response from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who defended the bill and expressed disappointment in Musk’s remarks.
“With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill,” Johnson told reporters.
“But for him to come out and pan the whole bill, to me, is just very disappointing — very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him yesterday,” Johnson said.
“It’s not personal,” he added. “I just deeply regret that he’s made this mistake.”
