Donald Trump has reacted to people jokingly calling Elon Musk “president” after Musk was appointed head of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Trump said, “I see it all the time… they have many different things… of hatred.”

Some Democrats, like Representative Jim McGovern, claimed Musk is actually in charge: “He’s president, and Trump is now vice president.” Trump said Musk called him to address this: “Elon called me. He said, ‘You know, they’re trying to drive us apart’. I said ‘Absolutely.’”

Trump praised Musk, saying, “I respect him… He did Starlink… things that were so advanced.” He also admired SpaceX’s rocket landing: “It was like you grab a beautiful little baby.”

Trump and Musk discussed two astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, supposedly “left in space.” Trump said, “They got left in space… He (Biden) was going to leave them in space.” Musk blamed “political reasons,” but the astronauts denied feeling “abandoned.” Wilmore said, “We don’t feel stuck… we come prepared.”

Critics questioned Musk’s influence. Katherine Clark said, “Because Elon Musk, an unelected man, said ‘We’re not doing this deal,’ and Donald Trump followed along.” Robert Garcia added: “Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency.”