Billionaire Elon Musk, who announced his departure from the government and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Wednesday, refused to answer a question this Friday about an article from The New York Times that accuses him of having consumed all kinds of drugs during the electoral campaign of the current president, Donald Trump.
The publication reports that Musk “said he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use.” It also adds that he “consumed ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And traveled with a daily medication box containing about 20 pills, including some branded with the stimulant Adderall.”
What was Elon Musk’s response to the accusations of drug use?
“Is the ‘New York Times’ the same publication that won a Pulitzer Prize for fake news about the Russiagate?” Musk questioned at a press conference with Trump, referring to the accusations of Russian interference during the 2016 presidential elections.
But after attacking the newspaper, the South African did not address the accusations.
Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, also said something else when asked outside the Oval Office about Elon Musk’s drug use: “The drugs that concern us are the ones crossing the southern border. Next question...”
Musk says he will continue as a “advisor” to the Trump administration
Musk was in the Oval Office of the White House in a staged event with Trump for a sort of friendly farewell.
There, the South African entrepreneur stated that he will continue to be a “friend and advisor” to Trump. “If there is anything the president wants me to do, I am at his service,” emphasizing that the team working on DOGE “is doing an incredible job.”
“This is not the end of DOGE, but the beginning,” Musk continued during his speech, adding that he hopes to see “over time” cuts in government spending of up to a trillion dollars, a promise that, however, he has failed to fulfill."
Trump, for his part, stated that Musk has had to do his job “against all odds.” “It’s a shame because he’s an incredible patriot. The good news is that 90 percent of the country knows and appreciates him, and truly values what he has done,” the president declared without citing which survey he was referring to. One survey by ABC News and The Washington Post at the end of April, showed only a 35% approval rating for Musk’s work in the government.
Trump stated that his friend Musk has had to endure “abuse, slander, lies, and outrageous attacks.” “He has really changed the mindset of many people,” he said, adding that Musk “is not leaving” the government, but rather “will be coming and going.”
The South African billionaire announced this Wednesday the end of his stage as a “special employee of the US government” just a day after acknowledging being “disappointed” with Trump’s tax reform project as he considered it insufficient.