BONUS | Opinion: Do you support Elon Musk and his work with DOGE?
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
Do you think DOGE has helped to shrink the federal government or was it all for show? We asked and you answered on Forum. The series from USA TODAY's Opinion team is dedicated to showcasing views from across the political spectrum on issues that Americans are starkly divided on. If you'd like to weigh in on a different topic, you can find more questions at usatoday.com/forum. And if your submission is selected for print, we might invite you to add your voice to a future special bonus episode like this one.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the excerpt. President Donald Trump appointed Elon Musk to lead the Department of Government efficiency as he started his term in office. |
| 0:12.0 | Do you think Doge has helped shrink the federal government, or was it all for show? |
| 0:17.0 | And should a private citizen have this level of influence? |
| 0:22.1 | I'm Michael McArthur. |
| 0:25.7 | I leave the opinion sections of Gannett, the parent company of USA Today. |
| 0:31.3 | This is a bonus episode of the excerpt, highlighting a series from USA Today's opinion team called Forum. |
| 0:34.8 | Here's what we heard from you about Elon Musk and Doge. I do not support Elon Musk and Doge. |
| 0:41.6 | I do not support Elon Musk. |
| 0:47.8 | I don't think as a private person, he has any business involved with the government or on behalf of the president doing what he's doing. |
| 0:51.0 | This is Charles Peterson, a 70-year-old from Rocky Hill, Connecticut. |
| 0:55.4 | He views Musk's involvement in government as inappropriate and potentially harmful. |
| 1:00.9 | Those is all for show. |
| 1:02.9 | It's part of Trump's show. |
| 1:04.7 | Trump's went as far as to involve private citizens, especially with such things as our social security system and private concerns |
| 1:14.9 | that outside individuals shouldn't be involved and have no business. And they didn't save any |
| 1:20.8 | money and it was a big waste of time. As most of Trump's antics are a waste of time, As far as Musk's businesses, Tesla, SpaceX, and X and so forth, |
| 1:34.5 | those businesses are showing fracture and lots of points of failure right now as well. |
| 1:41.4 | So I think Mr. Musk wants to get back to his businesses and stop losing money. |
| 1:55.8 | Lorraine Mischot is 62 and a Cape Cod native. |
| 1:59.8 | He thinks Elon Musk is the right choice to quickly change U.S. federal systems and spending. |
| 2:05.4 | I fully support Elon Musk. |
| 2:08.9 | And the reason that I do is I think it's the transparency. |
... |
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