Elon Musk v Donald Trump - who has the real power?

Silicon Valley’s billionaires are making headlines again as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg says he’s going to get rid of factcheckers on his social media platforms, while X’s Elon Musk continues to attack UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz - so have we entered a new age of political discourse?

In this episode of the America Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Albert Eisenberg, a political strategist who runs the messaging firm BlueStateRed, and Joan Donovan, assistant professor of journalism at Boston University, to discuss if Elon Musk is good for democracy and whether Donald Trump can rein him in.

Produced by Calum Fraser, Silvia Maresca, Rob Thomson and Ka Yee Mak.
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[patriciabrady]

Put a clown into a palace and he doesn't become a king, the palace becomes a circus.

[andrewjones-productions]

There have been billionaires like Elon Musk in the past. Trouble is, they have all been villains in a James Bond film.

[christophervaughan]

Why are you interviewing that guy who doesn’t seem to know anything? How can we learn anything from someone who knows nothing but thinks he knows everything?

[irishsummits]

"He built the worlds most valuable car maker from scratch"... Why do we give people like Eisenberg time on screen? He's a fanboy. Zero unbiased opinion, just fanboy nonsense which doesn't even pass a basic google search.

[HélèneBaetzner]

Massive loss of respect to C4 for having Albert Eisenberg on the show. What an idiot. A fact is an absolute, not something you can bend at a whim to suit your narrative. Let’s not bother talking about how its totally ok to be a far-right extremist, as long as you build shiny cars and send rockets to the moon)

[lastChang]

Elon Musk needs to register as a *foreign agent* (FARA) for the work he performs at the behest of Chinese 🇨🇳 government:
- He helped China to export forced labor, made in China electric cars to other countries.
- He took American technologies to China and sold them.
- He complained all the time, but always praised the Chinese regime.
- He advocated for AI slowdown so that China could catch up.
- He tried to block a US laws limiting investments to China in critical sectors.
- He blocked his Starshield satelite service in Taiwan.
- He repeated Chinese Lies Of The Century about independent Taiwan country as a "province of China."

[AhmetTekin]

That *South African🇿🇦-born multibillionaire guy* is a national security and public safety risk, given his ties with the Chinese government and frequent calls with Putin.

[FigmentHF]

the best way to destroy this allegiance of Trump and Elon, is to constantly talk about how Trump is Elon's puppet, Trumps ego will destroy the relationship

[thomasf.]

The Republican strategist has really gone down the rabbit hole. He deflects difficult questions and just resorts to whataboutism instead of providing actual answers.

[JOSEPHRutter-mu]

Once Elon Musk's XAI34v passes $1, it may NEVER see that low again

[JoelMcVeagh]

What an insufferable guy, so deluded and brainwashed. He is a victim of the system he is saying is so good. Crazy

[bobbygabriel]

That Albert guy hasn't a clue whereas Joan Donavan is on the ball.

[sueschlesinger]

Bravo JOAN. You've pegged MUSK perfectly.

[Francisco_CS]

Eisenberg... Talk about the sheep chearing on the wolf😂

[conniedean]

DONALD TRUMP - WHAT DOES IT PROFIT A MAN WHO GAINS THE WHOLE WORLD BUT LOSES HIS OWN SOUL.

[mkadi]

It is interesting how Albert Eisenberg's voice is robotic while Joan's is human

[alingard]

Love the bookshelf with 3 books on it …
a well read man right there

[thomashousden]

It's simple. Stop buying his cars and services (starlink) and see how he likes that.

[csharpe]

Unfortunately, you’re gonna get President Musk

[PaulaTerryLancaster]

'I don't know what word in the English language I can't find one that applies to people who are willing to sacrifice the literal existence of organized human life so they can put a few more dollars into highly overstuffed pockets. The word evil doesn't begin to approach it.' - Noam Chomsky