Elon Musk on Thursday brandished a chainsaw on stage, presented by Argentine President Javier Milei, to underscore his support for reducing federal bureaucracy through President Donald Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) panel.
The incident occured at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) when Milei, who has used a chainsaw as a symbol of his own push to restore fiscal discipline, handed the tool to Tesla CEO before a cheering crowd of American conservatives.
The world’s richest person, who was clad in sunglasses, a baseball cap that said ‘Make America Great Again’ and a large necklace, paraded it up and down the stage before laying it to one side and declaring he was ‘living the meme.’
“We’re trying to get good things done. But also, like, you know, have a good time doing it, and… a sense of humor,” said Musk. “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.”
Musk suggested that the media’s frequent use of “threat to democracy” could be more accurately interpreted as “threat to bureaucracy”. He said, “The legacy media all say the same thing at the same time. They’re mouthpieces for the state. They’re always saying ‘threat to democracy,’ but if you just replaced democracy with bureaucracy, it makes a lot of sense.”
Musk carried the decorated chainsaw off stage at a center near Washington, reflecting the celebratory atmosphere at the conference.
Vice president JD Vance also expressed his enthusiasm about the new administration. “The President keeps us on a pretty breakneck pace,” he told the crowd. “It’s been a hell of a lot of fun the past month.”
Trump has issued numerous executive orders since taking office, focusing on conservative priorities including reduced government spending, stricter immigration policies and elimination of workplace programs addressing racism and inequality.
“Everybody’s happier,” said Gabriel Garcia, a 44-year-old CPAC attendee who was previously under house arrest for his involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol assault. “We got Trump back in office,” he told AFP.
The annual conservative conference has increasingly centered around Trump, featuring appearances by key administration officials.
Trump is also scheduled to address the conference on Saturday.
