Elon Musk tried a charm offensive in an interview that aired Thursday on Fox News.
Mr. Musk and several top aides at the Department of Government Efficiency sat with Bret Baier, portraying themselves as public servants who just want to help improve America’s balance sheets.
“At the end of the day, America is going to be in much better shape,” Mr. Musk said. “America will be solvent. The critical programs that people depend upon will work, and it’s going to be a fantastic future.”
Democrats have repeatedly criticized Mr. Musk’s effort to shrink the federal government, warning that critical government services will be cut, and federal judges have struck down some of his team’s steps to fire thousands of federal workers. The interview seemed part of a public-relations campaign by Mr. Musk and his team to present their work on more friendly terms.
“I’m blessed with four beautiful children, my wife and I,” said Tom Krause, the chief executive of Cloud Software Group who is leading the department’s efforts to review the Treasury Department’s payment systems. “But we have a real fiscal crisis, and this is not sustainable. And what’s worse, back to my children and everyone else’s children, we are burdening them with that debt. And it’s only going to grow.”
Mr. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, said his team was trying to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion, and to cut $4 billion every day. He said he expected to accomplish “most of the work” within the first 130 days, which aligns with the amount of time a “special government employee” is permitted to serve.
Mr. Musk was joined by seven men on his team, a group that includes Steve Davis, a longtime loyalist of Mr. Musk’s who largely handles the daily operations of the department, and Joe Gebbia, a fellow billionaire and co-founder of Airbnb. Mr. Musk has been very visible, often appearing at President Trump’s side, but most of his aides have kept low profiles. Mr. Davis, who worked for Mr. Musk at SpaceX and his social media platform X, had not participated in any interviews since he started working in the government.
