“Scott Bessent is eminently more qualified than Howard Lutnick to run the U.S. Treasury,” said Bass in a Wednesday post on X. “Scott understands markets, economics, people, and geopolitics better than anyone I’ve ever interacted with. Markets have already anticipated a Bessent choice. Lutnick is not Trump’s answer.”

In response, RFK Jr. suggested that Lutnick – who is currently working as co-chair of Trump’s transition team, would be a strong advocate for Bitcoin – which he described as “a hedge against inflation for middle class Americans,a remedy against the dollar’s downgrade from the world’s reserve currency, and the offramp from a ruinous national debt.”

Bitcoin is the currency of freedom , a hedge against inflation for middle class Americans,a remedy against the dollar’s downgrade from the world’s reserve currency, and the offramp from a ruinous national debt. Bitcoin will have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnik.

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) November 16, 2024

Musk suggested more people weigh in on the decision, but said he views Bessent as “a business-as-usual choice,” while Lutnick “will actually enact change.”

Would be interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for @realDonaldTrump to consider feedback.

My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change.

Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change… https://t.co/igGLZOJ8wz

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 16, 2024

According to Bloomberg, the choice is ‘creating tension and increasing the chance that another candidate rises up,’ citing anonymous people familiar with the decision making.

Trump himself has appeared frustrated with the infighting and staff are looking for alternatives, with Robert Lighthizer, Senator William Hagerty and Apollo Global Management Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marc Rowan among the names in the mix.

Lutnick was a key support to Trump’s fundraising in the final months of the campaign and he has helped lead the team’s transition to the presidency. Because of that, some key advisers are looking at what else Lutnick might take — if not Treasury — such as a plum ambassadorship, according to people familiar with the decision. –Bloomberg

That said, Lutnick previously donated to both Hillary Clinton in 2015 and Kamala Harris’ Senate campaign in 2016, among others.

Ultimately, the choice is up to Trump – who hasn’t shared his opinion in public.

The outlet claimed in a Wednesday editorial that the platform contains “disturbing content” that includes so-called “conspiracy theories” and “racism.” The editorial team has decided to promote their content elsewhere to avoid Musk’s alleged ability to “shape political discourse.”

“We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X (formerly Twitter),” the editorial reads. “We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere. This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.”

“The US presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse,” the editorial continued.

Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X https://t.co/j4fRgzSYde

— The Guardian (@guardian) November 13, 2024

The company’s staff will still be able to use X to promote their own work, and users are still permitted to post The Guardian’s content on the platform, the editorial team wrote. They alleged that X “plays a diminished role” in their goal to reach new audiences and prefers that readers obtain their content from their website.

“Social media can be an important tool for news organisations and help us to reach new audiences but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work. Our journalism is available and open to all on our website and we would prefer people to come to theguardian.com and support our work there,” the editorial continued.

President-elect Donald Trump’s victory led to a surge in users allegedly quitting X, most notably MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, who claimed she deleted her account as an act of “self preservation.” However, Wallace’s account appears to still exist.

Prior to Musk taking over X in April 2022, the platform locked the accounts of the New York Post and then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany shortly before the 2020 election for sharing the outlet’s reporting that contained emails allegedly from Hunter Biden’s laptop indicating that he and his father, President Joe Biden, met with a Ukrainian executive from the oil company Burisma. Musk and journalists including former Rolling Stone editor Matt Taibbi detailed how the former executives of the platform intentionally suppressed the New York Post’s report on Hunter Biden’s laptop at the behest of the FBI.

The previous executives running the platform permanently banned Trump’s account for allegedly inciting or justifying violence at the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

From the minute he bought Twitter in 2022, the leftists who aspire to complete messaging control were furious. They knew their 2020 jig was up, that they couldn’t just suppress damaging stories like the Hunter Biden laptop. Reporters like Cleve Wootson of The Washington Post complained in the White House briefing that “misinformation on Twitter is not just a campaign issue … it’s an America issue.” Post columnists call it a “mind-polluting app.”

Suddenly, “independent” agencies in the Biden administration unleashed their probes: the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Government was weaponized against Musk.

After the Democrats installed Kamala Harris, Musk became an explicit Trump supporter and super-PAC funder. Now the press warns he’ll have a massive conflict of interest if he’s brought on by President Trump as a “government efficiency czar.” He has many millions of dollars in government contracts.

Musk’s publicity stunt of handing over $1 million a day to Americans who signed his petition in favor of the First and Second Amendments drew all kinds of negative attacks from the press. On Oct. 21, “CBS Mornings” brought on their elections expert David Becker, who lusted openly about sending Musk to jail for five years for bribing voters.

On the last Saturday before the election, NBC News was warning that “at least nine of the 15 winners” of the big checks were either “registered Republicans” or “Republican-leaning.” Is that really a surprise or a scandal, conservatives backing the constitutional amendments?

Then on the night before Election Day, MSNBC star Rachel Maddow went on a wild rant about how the federal government will have to shed all ties to Musk, everywhere. They are an “untenable” reality for national security.

The meltdown intensified as the votes piled up for Trump after the polls closed. CBS host Margaret Brennan railed at 1:30 a.m. that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., warned, “no single person is more beholden to the Chinese Communist Party. Because of the business interests he has in that country.”

Hunter Biden’s thicket of business interests in China were never interesting to CBS and the Democrats. But now that Musk is helping Trump? Look out!

Warner and the Democrats are upset that the social media atmosphere isn’t censoring conservative “misinformation” enough. It’s not just X but Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Musk made censorship uncool.

Journalists like Brennan complain about Musk spreading misinformation willy-nilly and then insist, “The facts were in Joe Biden’s favor on the economy. The facts were in Kamala Harris’ favor on the economy.” Liberals have this funny habit of declaring their opinions are facts. Therefore, dissenting opinions are “misinformation.”

Liberals and conservatives alike feel that Elon Musk’s billions have transformed the “information space.” He made it … more spacious. Our media elites want everyone to have a very limited diet under their control. In their strange minds, losing control of the narrative is equated with the loss of democracy.

This is why Musk is their Public Enemy No. 1. This is why conservatives should be emboldened to push the information the leftists want squashed. The election demonstrated that a more liberated marketplace of news and ideas is what made democracy great again.

In recent weeks, the popular podcast host has separately interviewed Trump and his running mate, Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, to discuss their policy platform and thoughts on the campaign. Rogan endorsed Trump to X (formerly known as Twitter) after his interview with billionaire Elon Musk was released, applauding the SpaceX and Tesla founder for his case supporting Trump before.

“If it wasn’t for him we’d be fucked,” Rogan wrote of Musk. “He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way. For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump. Enjoy the podcast,” Rogan wrote.

The great and powerful @elonmusk.
If it wasn't for him we'd be fucked. He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you'll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.
For the record, yes, that's an endorsement of Trump.
Enjoy the podcast pic.twitter.com/LdBxZFVsLN

— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) November 5, 2024

In August, reports claimed Rogan had endorsed former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during an episode on his podcast, after praising the then-candidate, according to Deadline. However, the podcast host later took to X to state that his comments were not an endorsement, but just expressing his appreciation for Kennedy’s civility in politics.

“For the record, this isn’t an endorsement. This is me saying that I like RFKjr as a person, and I really appreciate the way he discusses things with civility and intelligence. I think we could use more of that in this world,” Rogan wrote at the time.

Rogan’s interview with Trump on Oct. 25 has garnered over 45 million views on YouTube, while J.D. Vance’s episode has reached 14 million views. In addition to hosting Republican candidates, Rogan offered to have Vice President Kamala Harris on his show, telling Trump during their episode that he wanted to discuss her policies with her.

Despite the offer, Rogan later revealed that Harris’ campaign missed their “opportunity” to sit down with him while she was in Texas. The podcast host wrote on X that her team had wanted him to travel to her, even though he had offered to host her at his Austin studio while she was attending a rally in Texas.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Elon Musk, who is expected to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency” (D.O.G.E.) if Donald Trump wins and forms it, posted a hypothetical about having former Congressman Ron Paul as part of it.

He posted on 𝕏, “Would be great to have Ron Paul as part of the Department of Government Efficiency!”

Would be great to have Ron Paul as part of the Department of Government Efficiency!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2024

Paul, known as arguably the biggest champion for small government to serve in Congress in modern history, replied with interest.

“I’d be happy to talk with you about it, Elon,” he posted.

I'd be happy to talk with you about it, Elon. https://t.co/tjG6O5CpIj

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) November 1, 2024

Wow. That is just another reason to make sure President Trump is elected… not that we needed more reasons.

Saturday, he stepped up his political philanthropy in a big way and will continue to do so until election days. According to The Post Millennial:

Elon Musk handed out a check worth $1 million dollars to a random voter who signed his “free speech and right to bear arms” petition in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Musk made the promise to do it every day until election day.

As the tech entrepreneur handed the man the check, the voter said, “Thanks, Elon. This is really great.”

Musk said that one of the issues was getting people to know about the petition and that the $1 million payment would be certain to get the legacy media’s attention. “The only thing we ask for the million dollars is that you be spokesperson for the petition and that’s it,” Musk said when he handed the man the check.

Watch the exchange:

Wow. @elonmusk just gave away a MILLION dollars to someone who signed his free speech petition. He vows to do this every day until Election Day. pic.twitter.com/7DaPg3MXhQ

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 20, 2024

Will corporate media cover it? Of course not. But the word will get out because conservative and alternative media will cover it. As independent journalism continues to fill the void of truth that partisan corporate media is abandoning, people like Musk and Trump are benefitting… as is America.

In an off-topic conversation, an audience member asked Musk why Tesla had not purchased the struggling EV competitor Rivian.

Musk responded:

“I wish them the best. I hope they do well. The car industry is a very difficult industry. There’s only two US car companies that haven’t gone bankrupt, and that’s Ford and Tesla. Rivian’s going to have a hard time. It’s insanely difficult to compete in the car industry. If it were not for two technology discontinuities, one being electrification and the other being autonomy, I think Tesla could not succeed without solving both.”

ELON MUSK: "The car industry is a very difficult industry. There are only two car companies that haven't gone bankrupt: Ford and Tesla. Rivian is going to have a hard time. It's insanely difficult to compete in the car industry.

If it were not for not just one, but two… pic.twitter.com/rOgdBiGJHq

— Autism Capital (@AutismCapital) October 19, 2024

Earlier this month, Rivian announced that third-quarter vehicle deliveries missed forecasts and lowered its full-year production guidance amid continued “component shortage.”

Rivian said it delivered 10,018 vehicles in the quarter and produced 13,157 units. This missed FactSet estimates of 12,670 deliveries.

The problem with Rivian is the limited affordability options for most models—they’re out of reach for the average consumer. The company expects to launch a smaller Tesla Model Y-rivaling R2, which won’t roll out onto US highways until late 2026 or even 2027.

Last month, Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas downgraded names like GM, Ford, Rivian, Magna International, and Phinia amid the slowdown in the auto market.

It doesn’t help when high interest rates and elevated vehicle prices have sent new monthly car payments skyrocketing higher in several years.

In a separate note earlier this year, MS Jonas pointed out that struggling EV companies could develop partnerships with legacy automakers.

Rivian recently partnered with Volkswagen, validating the analyst’s consolidation forecast in the space.

Here’s what X users are saying about Musk’s comments last night about Rivian:

in reality, Tesla has nothing to gain by buying a company that egregiously burned through 23 *billion* un-successfully ramping a single product line

— WeirdNerd (@xIronman777) October 19, 2024

Elon actually wants others to do well! This is another thing that folks don’t immediately realize. Tesla open sourced all their patents to help folks like Rivian out. He cares about the mission and wants competition out there to drive better products for all.

— ĐOGEARMY GENERAL (@TheTeslaBull) October 19, 2024

They’ve burned so much cash. Soo soooo much cash. Prognosis for the future isn’t nearly as bright as Tesla either.

That said… why would Tesla want to buy into such a cash drain? What tech do they have that’s even useful to Tesla?

— Charlie (@CharliePryor) October 19, 2024

Shares of Rivian are down 57% this year – near record lows. Short interest is about 16.5% or about 122.3 million shares.

The price war Telsa started just a few short years ago to crush competition shows that Musk continues to win.

California officials have rejected further rocket launches by SpaceX, a company owned by Elon Musk. Some of the officials have cited his posts on social media platform 𝕏, which he owns.

According to the Los Angeles Times [emphasis added]:

SpaceX’s plans to launch more rockets from the California coast were rejected by a state commission this week, with some officials citing Elon Musk’s political posts on 𝕏 and raising concerns about the billionaire’s labor record at his companies.

The plan to increase the number of rocket blasts into space up to 50 a year was rejected by the California Coastal Commission on Thursday despite assurances from Space Force and Air Force officials that they would increase efforts to monitor the effects that rocket launches have on nearby wildlife.

The 1st Amendment protects American citizens from being silenced, censored, or otherwise punished over lawful speech. It was written specifically regarding laws passed by Congress, but applies to all levels of government and is not exclusive to the legislative branch.

Of course, the First Amendment also applies to the non-legislative branches of government—to every government agency—local, state, or federal. — Herbert v. Lando, 441 U.S. 153, 168 n.

In other words, it is blatantly unlawful for California officials to enact government policies against Musk or anyone else based in any way on their opinions of his speech. That didn’t stop California Coastal Commission Chair Caryl Hart from citing Musk’s politics in their decision.

“We’re dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race,” Hart said.

It may not matter what the California Coastal Commission believes. SpaceX is a leading contractor for Vandenberg Space Force Base. Federal officials do not need a permit or permission from the commission to launch rockets as long as they agree to mitigate negative effects from their actions.

As free speech advocate Michael Shellenberger noted:

California regulators have blocked @SpaceX launches because they disagree with @elonmusk ‘s politics. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and a gross abuse of power, even in increasingly totalitarian California.

California regulators have blocked @SpaceX launches because they disagree with @elonmusk's politics. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and a gross abuse of power, even in increasingly totalitarian California. pic.twitter.com/T7YZdTb0xJ

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) October 12, 2024

Shellenberger went on to lambast politicians across the state, particularly Governor Gavin Newsom:

The California Coastal Commission rejected SpaceX’s proposal to increase rocket launches for political not environmental reasons. Just look at what they said

— “We’re dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race,” said CCC Chair Caryl Hart.

— “This company is owned by the richest person in the world with direct control of what could be the most expansive communications system in the planet,” said another commissioner.

— “Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] while claiming his desire to help hurricane victims with free Starlink access to the internet,” said another one.

All California regulators take their cues from California Gov. @GavinNewsom.

As such, this could be payback by Newsom, who has been at war with @elonmusk ever since Newsom signed legislation that makes it easier for teachers to brainwash children into believing they are the opposite gender and can change their sex through drugs and surgery.

The governor of America’s richest and most populous state yesterday doubled down on his new law, which requires that schools hide a psychiatric disorder known as gender dysphoria from parents.

California Governor Gavin Newsom claims his law “protects the child-parent… pic.twitter.com/ntyEjyUcmO

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) July 17, 2024

That war escalated when @GavinNewsom got the legislature to ban AI parody videos relating to elections after @elonmusk shared one mocking @KamalaHarris

Ten days ago, a federal judge blocked the implementation of Newsom’s censorship law for being an obvious violation of the First Amendment:

California's recent ban on election-related "misinformation," including political parody, is unconstitutional, a federal court has just ruled. Free speech, not censorship, is the solution to bad info. Wonderful repudiation of totalitarians @GavinNewsom @KamalaHarris & @Tim_Walz pic.twitter.com/YiUmyChqu4

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) October 2, 2024

Having implemented policies that increased homelessness by 40%, and that increased violent crime so much that it is now 31% higher than the national average,
@GavinNewsom is spiraling into nihilism.

Since Newsom took office in 2019, California’s population saw a net decline of around 500,000 people, resulting in the loss of a Congressional seat.

Newsom’s radical lockdowns destroyed thousands of family-owned small businesses and stunted a generation of children.

Now, Newsom appears determined to chase California’s most successful entrepreneurs out of the state.

Newsom will go down in history as the worst, most destructive governor in California’s history.

RECEIPTS:

CRIMEhttps://t.co/Ftd5iAkNmc

HOMELESSNESShttps://t.co/QTDcdqWepq pic.twitter.com/WMEINd4dM7

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) August 13, 2024

Elon Musk tends to come out on top even when there is ambiguity surrounding an issue. This is a violation of his 1st Amendment rights prima facie, so he should have no trouble smacking it into the totalitarian abyss where it belongs.

“Our goal is to get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” America PAC states on the petition page. “This program is exclusively open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.”

For every person you refer who is a swing state voter, you get $47! Easy money. https://t.co/5jCNuXIaui

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 7, 2024

The program seemingly has two complementary aims:

• Building a list of registered voters to be used in get-out-the-vote initiatives for Donald Trump
• Indirectly incentivizing voter registration among conservative-leaning swing-state residents — by paying people who may encourage others to register to vote so they can sign the petition

Importantly, that registration-motivation element is roundabout. It’s against federal election law to pay someone to register to vote or to vote, but the America PAC program merely pays people for referring registered voters to sign a petition. Nonetheless, some are struggling to grasp that rather glaring distinction:

Musk is now advertising paying voters $47 for a shady data grab / voter registration scheme in swing states.

How is this even legal? pic.twitter.com/wdsL3gEppb

— Tobi (@TobiFrenzen) October 6, 2024

Signing the petition requires providing your name, email address, mailing address and cell phone number. The online form says the phone number “will only be used to confirm you are the legitimate petition signer. No other purpose.” There’s also a place to provide the email address or phone number of the person who referred you to the petition. The page cautions that “before payment is made, America PAC will verify the accuracy of all information of the referrer and referee.”

The petition‘s language is almost comically brief, merely stating “the First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.” While the language is naturally meant to appeal to conservatives, there’s apparently nothing to stop Democrats from signing the petition, diluting the voter list and scoring some cash along the way. Some are already looking to exploit that angle:

Musk’s Super Pac is paying $47 to anyone who refers people in swing states to sign up.

I urge Harris supporters to sign up. We, unlike Trump, don’t want to “suspend the Constitution”.

All money earned from referrals will be donated to a Harris Super Pac.

Use Email… https://t.co/wTYIulFfbD

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) October 6, 2024

According to Forbes, Musk is the world’s richest person, with an Oct 1-estimated net worth of $270.5 billion. Though he’d previously voted for Barack Obama and once said “I get involved in politics as little as possible,” Musk has become an ardent backer of Trump’s reelection campaign, and scathing critic of leftist ideology and tactics. On Saturday, he joined Trump onstage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, at the very site where Trump was shot in the ear by a would-be assassin.

The America PAC was launched in May to focus on voter registration and turnout — to include encouraging mail-in balloting. While the Wall Street Journal‘s sources said Musk had committed to contributing $45 million a month to America PAC, he denied the report, calling it “a fiction made up by the Wall Street Journal.” The Journal reported that other donors include Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale and the Winklevoss twins.

Voter registration windows are starting to close. Here are the registration deadlines in the swing states (you can see the details on any state’s deadlines here):

• Arizona: Monday, Oct 7
• Georgia: Monday, Oct 7
• Michigan: Monday, Oct 21 (in-person registration allowed through Election Day)
• Nevada: Wednesday Oct 23 (in-person registration allowed through Election Day)
• North Carolina: Friday, Oct 11 (in-person registration allowed during early voting period)
• Pennsylvania: Monday, Oct 21
• Wisconsin: Wednesday, Oct 16 (in-person registration allowed through Election Day)

At the top of the list of people who should be all over this is Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security which oversees FEMA. Unfortunately, the American citizens who are in the most dire of circumstances are being put on hold as Mayorkas spends his time buying luxury clothing at Sid Mashburn, a high-end menswear store.

Twitter user Joe Gabriel Simonson noticed Mayorkas there for the second time in a month, this time snapping a photo:

For context about all the FEMA stuff, I saw Alejandro Mayorkas this afternoon at Sid Mashburn, which is the second time I’ve seen him there on a Saturday afternoon in about a month. So, suffice to say, the guy isn’t working around the clock pic.twitter.com/NC5yNzikET

— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) October 5, 2024

Elon Musk wasn’t impressed:

He’s shopping for fancy clothes while people are suffering from hurricane damage. This is some Hunger Games shit.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2024

According to The Gateway Pundit:

The photo, first uploaded to the X platform, caught the attention of Elon Musk, who was less than impressed by Mayorkas’s actions.

“He’s shopping for fancy clothes while people are suffering from hurricane damage,” Musk wrote. “This is some Hunger Games shit.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, who represents a district in the neighboring state of South Carolina and has led efforts to force the federal government to provide additional funding to the hurricane’s victims, suggested that Mayorkas should be impeached again.

Already voted to impeach @SecMayorkas once.

Who thinks we need to do it again?

— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) October 4, 2024

The UniParty Swamp and their subsidiaries in the Bureaucratic State know Americans are suffering. Not only do they not case, but they also don’t care that we know they don’t care.