BBC Information, in Erie, Pennsylvania
Seated round a breakfast desk in Erie, Pennsylvania, 4 veterans of their mid-80s – John, Jack, Bob and Don – bind to reminisce about their many years of friendship.
However it’s some other Don, this one in his overdue 70s, who helps to keep creeping into their dialog: President Donald Trump.
Of the 4, handiest Bob voted for Trump. However next perceptible Elon Musk status then to the Republican president within the Oval Workplace this moment, protecting his efforts to slash the scale and spending of the government, he’s already doubting his choice.
“I’m afraid of him,” Bob says of Musk. “I think he’s trying to be president.”
Erie County used to be one of the vital key battlegrounds that helped swing the 2024 presidential election in Trump’s favour. The Republican received 50.1% of the vote right here simply 4 years next his Democratic rival Joe Biden narrowly took the county.
And a part of Trump’s successful platform used to be a sunny contract to overtake and upend the government, pledging at the marketing campaign path to bring “trillions” in cuts if elected. Polls indicated that used to be prevailing with Republican electorate, and that residue the case now.
What used to be much less sunny to electorate earlier than the election used to be simply how a lot of a frontline position Musk would play games on this management. The 53-year-old proprietor of Tesla, SpaceX and X now leads the Section of Govt Potency (Doge) which is devoted to shrinking executive and is mechanically pictured along the president.
Individuals of his group have entered numerous branchs to observe spending and introduced hundreds of thousands of employees an proceed direction. They have got moved to freeze federal investment in addition to the paintings of businesses similar to america Company for World Construction (USAID) in a snowfall of process in contemporary weeks.
However given the size of Musk’s affect within the nascent Trump management, Democrats are excited about conflicts of pastime in addition to Musk, whose firms have billions in federal executive commitments, doubtlessly taking movements to profit himself.
“This is dangerous. This is against America’s interests,” Senior Democrat Chuck Schumer stated. “And President Trump needs to show some leadership and reign in Doge before it inflicts more harm.”
That worry used to be shared through John Pelinsky, a lifelong Democrat who in November’s election forged his poll for Donald Trump. He stated Democrats had swung too a ways to the left and he sought after 4 years of Trump to aid “centre the country”.
Pace he does now not be apologetic about his vote, he says Musk makes him really feel anxious.
“He had his little kid there with him in the Oval Office,” he stated. “I’m not quite comfortable with that.”
“I think Musk’s influence might be a little too much on the president,” he added. “I’m seeing too much of him. He should just stick with his SpaceX and his electric cars.”
Musk, in the meantime, has been sunny that he believes he’s running to enact the desires of Trump’s electorate.
“The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get,” he advised journalists all over a miracle White Area look this moment. “That’s what democracy is all about.”
A contemporary ballot through the BBC’s US spouse CBS Information recommended a majority of American citizens had been in preference of Musk’s paintings however disagreed over how a lot affect he will have to have.
In Erie, enough quantity of supporters had been overjoyed to peer now not one billionaire businessman, however two, operating the display in Washington.
Christine Barber shrugged off issues and stated the American population had elected Trump to run the rustic and he had appointed Musk to aid him do this.
“Personally, I love him,” she stated of Musk.
“Financially, and from a business perspective, we need somebody who knows what the heck they’re doing. And if anybody does, it’s Donald Trump and Elon Musk.”
Patrick Laughlan had a alike view. He stated he relied on Trump and Musk “to the extent you can trust anybody you don’t know”.
“The guy’s obviously brilliant,” Laughlan stated of Musk. “He’s doing a good job trying to get rid of waste. Both of those gentlemen are trying to get money back to Americans.”
Evan Lagace, a cafe supervisor right here, embraces Musk’s cuts to a device he perspectives as bloated and inefficient. He stated he preferred that the tech billionaire used to be “donating his time to the country to help fix a major problem”.
“Like he did in a micro aspect with Twitter, he could hopefully do the same thing with our country,” Lagace stated, regarding the lump layoffs and spending cuts Musk applied next purchasing the social media corporate.
As for the accusations that Musk had grown too robust on this White Area, Lagace stated it didn’t hassle him.
“He’s already extremely powerful,” he stated. “It makes no difference.”