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As much as ABC, CBS and NBC have tried to embarrass Republicans over the years for any attempt to question or curtail laws with noble names like the “Clean Air Act” or the “Civil Rights Act,” it might be time to ask them why they are so opposed to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk working on the goal of “Government Efficiency.”
This week, the only Elon Musk story these networks cared about was his involvement in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, the most expensive court election ever, due to billionaire backers on both sides. Musk’s candidate lost by 10 points, which is why they loved talking about it so much.
Leftist activism against Musk’s company Tesla still made the newscasts. ABC Saturday anchor Mary Bruce touted: “Demonstrators gathering around the world and from coast to coast in the U.S. for so-called Tesla takedowns, outraged by Elon Musk and DOGE’s massive cuts to the federal workforce. It comes as the electric carmaker is facing acts of vandalism and other crimes.”
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CBS reporter Jessi Mitchell highlighted the bad news: “Tesla’s trajectory continues to tumble. The automaker reported a 13% slump in sales for the first quarter. Tesla cars, showrooms and repair centers have become targets for protesters angry over Musk`s actions with the Department of Government Efficiency. Tesla’s stock has dropped almost 50% since December.”
Billionaire businessman Elon Musk arrives for a town hall wearing a cheesehead hat at the KI Convention Center on March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
DOGE news was buried. On March 27, Musk and some colleagues from his Department of Government Efficiency granted an interview to Bret Baier of Fox News, describing all the work they are doing to reform government, which the other networks studiously ignored.
At a rally in Green Bay on March 30, Musk claimed almost 2.1 million illegal immigrants have received Social Security numbers, and 1.3 million of them are on Medicaid. Some of them voted. The networks skipped that, too.
The broadcast networks don’t actually care about government waste, fraud, and abuse. They care about power, and who gets to wield it.
On Monday’s “Good Morning America,” co-host George Stephanopoulos led off the program this way: “Overnight, Elon Musk handed out million-dollar checks in Wisconsin with the balance of power on the state Supreme Court up for grabs. What it could impact.”
NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez briefly summarized: “Democrats are accusing Musk of trying to buy the seat. The billionaire has offered money to voters there who are willing to sign a petition against ‘activist judges.’ Musk handing out million-dollar checks last night.”
With polls showing liberal candidate Susan Crawford in the lead, ABC reporter Rachel Scott summarized the dominant spin. The results will be “a test of the political power of Musk and a barometer about how voters are feeling about President Trump’s second term.”
Only CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe briefly mentioned there were billionaires on the Democrat side of the race – including George Soros and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
CBS and O’Keefe were the most aggressive, pushing morning and evening segments on Musk in the Badger State. “CBS Mornings Plus” brought on Jay Heck, the leader of the leftist group Common Cause in Wisconsin, as Adriana Diaz announced, “Your organization is a pro-democracy, bipartisan watchdog group.” There is nothing bipartisan about Common Cause. Search for “Common Cause” as an employer in a campaign-finance database, and it’s all Democrat donations.
Five Tesla vehicles were set on fire and shot at in what police are investigating as a “targeted attack” at a local repair center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 18. (Hal Sparks via Storyful)
Heck claimed, “this has turned into a national referendum on Elon Musk and really the beginning of the Trump administration with all of this ridiculous amount of money that’s been poured into the race.” The conservative side donated $58 million, and the liberal side gave $48 million. A “bipartisan” group would highlight both sides, not just the Musk side.
When the election was over, the networks did a victory dance, adding the spin that their win meant Musk’s time was almost up at the White House.
NBC’s Lester Holt proclaimed: “We have new reporting tonight about when Elon Musk may be leaving the Trump administration. It comes after he played a central role in an election last night.”
ABC’s Mary Bruce sounded the same happy notes: “Overnight, voters in Wisconsin delivered Musk a firm rebuke, rejecting his choice for a state Supreme Court seat after the billionaire campaigned aggressively in the state and poured millions into the race. And now, the president himself has been indicating Musk’s time may be up.”
But Musk is classified as a special government employee with a term lasting 130 days. Last week, Musk told Baier that he expected to be done with most of his DOGE work within the 130-day timeframe. That wasn’t affected at all by the election.
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On NPR’s “Morning Edition,” political analyst Domenico Montanaro claimed, “Musk’s favorability ratings have been a net-negative nationally — and were in Wisconsin too. Musk represented something of a heat shield for Trump on an unpopular way of making sweeping cuts to the government, but, after Tuesday’s results, how long can he remain in the public eye and not start to affect Trump’s political standing? … Wisconsin’s outcome might help move Musk and his blunt, unpopular agenda out of the spotlight.”
Politico’s Jonathan Martin added on NPR that Musk “just turbocharges the backlash to Trump.”
When the election was over, the networks did a victory dance, adding the spin that their win meant Musk’s time was almost up at the White House.
It’s fascinating that the pollsters decided they were going to test “approval ratings” for Musk at the same time they complained he was unelected. Trump clearly campaigned on the idea that Musk would be in charge of a government-reform effort for him, so he was part of a campaign promise.
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In 1993, unelected Hillary Clinton was handed the task of nationalizing the healthcare system, but the broadcast networks were firmly behind her back then. She was lauded as energetically as Musk has been trashed.
The broadcast networks are emphatically opposed to cutting the federal workforce and taking apart power structures that have helped enrich and entrench the left through agencies like USAID. They not only want Musk to walk away. They want to crumble up the DOGE work into powder and go back to government as usual.
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