President Trump sits for an interview with FOX News Channel’s Bret Baier at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla.
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President Trump defended his first three weeks back in the White House — punctuated by federal government disruption and promises of American expansionism — during an interview with FOX News Channel’s Bret Baier that aired on Super Bowl Sunday.
One of Trump’s biggest moves in his second term in the White House was asking billionaire Elon Musk to lead an entity, called the Department of Government Efficiency, to focus on cutting federal spending.
“I’ve had a great help with Elon Musk, who’s been terrific,” Trump said during the interview, which was pre-taped and aired as Trump flew to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl in person, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to do so.
Musk, a tech magnate turned special government employee, has had nearly unrestricted access to federal government departments and information — including Social Security and bank account numbers. A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked access to Treasury Department to DOGE following a lawsuit from 19 Democratic attorneys general, citing the risk of “irreparable harm.”
“I disagree with it 100%,” Trump said of the ruling. “I think it’s crazy. And we have to solve the efficiency problem.”
When asked about his confidence in Musk, Trump said his intentions were good.
“Trust Elon?” Trump said, “Oh, he’s not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He’s so into it.”
With Trump’s support, Musk and his DOGE unit have drastically cut funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development and promised to “shut it down.” On Friday, a court temporarily stopped the Trump administration from shutting the agency down completely.
Trump said he’s directed Musk and his team to investigate the departments of Education and Defense next.
“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” the President said. “And, you know, the people elected me on that.”
Space X — one of Musk’s companies — has received billions of dollars in government contracts from the Department of Defense.
