‘On a power trip’ or ‘obviously brilliant’? Voters weigh Musk’s influence happymamay

He sits around the breakfast table in Erie, Pennsylvania, and four veterans in the mid -1980s – John, Jack, Bob and Don – remember their contracts from their friendship.

But this is the last without, this is in the late seventies of the last century, which maintains crawling in their speech: President Donald Trump.

From the four, Bob’s voice only in favor of Trump. But after seeing Elon Musk, he stands next to the Republican President at the Oval Office this week, and he is defending his efforts to reduce the size and spending of the federal government, he actually doubts his decision.

“I am afraid of him,” says Bob. “I think he is trying to be president.”

Erie County was one of the main battles square that helped swing the 2024 presidential elections in favor of Trump. The Republican won 50.1 % of the votes here just four years after his democratic rival Joe Biden took over in a province.

Part of the winning Trump platform was a clear promise to reform the federal government and pledge the campaign’s path to hand over “trillion” discounts if elected. Opinion polls indicated that it was common for Republican voters, and this is still the case now.

What was less clear to voters before the elections was the amount of the role of the front lines played by Musk in this administration. The 53 -year -old is leading the 53 -year -old at Tesla, Spacex and X, now the government efficiency (DOGE) for the government’s decrease and is routinely photographed alongside the president.

The members of his team entered various departments to monitor spending and offered millions of workers on the exit road. They have moved to freeze federal financing as well as the work of agencies such as the USAID Agency (USAID) in a snowstorm of activity in recent weeks.

But given the scope of Musk’s influence on the Emerging Trump administration, Democrats are concerned about conflicting interests as well as Musk, whose companies have billions of federal government contracts, and possibly take measures in favor of himself.

“This is dangerous. This is against America’s interests,” said Chuck Schumer the Great. “President Trump needs to show some leadership and reach Doug before he causes more damage.”

John Bellinski, this anxiety, a life -long democracy, participated in the November elections that made voting with Donald Trump. He said that the Democrats swamped away to the left and wanted to help Trump for four years in the “center of the country”.

While it does not regret its voting, the musk makes it feel uncomfortable.

“He had his young child with him in the Oval Office,” he said. “I am not very comfortable for that.”

“I think the Musk effect may be a lot on the president,” he added. “I see a lot of it. He should only adhere to his cars and electric cars.”

Meanwhile, Musk was clearly believed to be working on the wishes of Trump’s voters.

“People voted in favor of the great government reform, and this is what people will get,” he told reporters during his sudden appearance at the White House this week. “This is what democracy revolves around.”

A poll conducted by CBS News, the American partner in the BBC He suggested that the majority of Americans were supporting Musk’s work, but they did not agree to the amount of the effect it should have.

In Erie, many supporters were happy to see one billionaire businessman, but two, manage the show in Washington.

Christine Barber ignored the concerns and said that the American people had chosen Trump to manage the country and appointed musk to help him do so.

“I personally love him,” she said about musk.

“From a financial point of view, and from the perspective of work, we need someone who knows what to do. If anyone does, it is Donald Trump and Elon Musk.”

Patrick Lavlan was a similar point of view. He said he trusted in Trump and Musk “to the extent that you can trust anyone you do not know.”

“It is clear that the man is wonderful,” Lavlan said. “He is doing a good job in an attempt to get rid of waste. Each of these gentlemen is trying to restore money to the Americans.”

Ivan Lagas, the restaurant manager here, embraces the musk cut into a system that is seen as enlarged and ineffective. He said that the technical billionaire was “donating his time to the country to help solve a big problem.”

“As he did in a small side with Twitter, we hope that he will do the same with our country,” Lagas said, “As he did in a small side with Twitter, we hope that he will do the same with our country,” referring to the demobilization of the collective workers and spending on the musk discounts that were implemented After buying a social media company.

As for the accusations that Musk had grown very strong in this White House, Lagas said he had not disturbed him.

“It is really very strong,” he said. “There is no difference.”