Despicable! Heinous! Unhuman!
Elon Musk's Chainsaw Spectacle at CPAC and the Mass Firing of Government Employees
Video: Elon Musk wields chainsaw during CPAC appearance | CNN Politics
In a move that has left many stunned and outraged, Elon Musk, the tech mogul and head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), made headlines with his dramatic appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Musk, known for his unconventional and often controversial actions, took the stage wielding a chainsaw, symbolizing his aggressive approach to cutting government spending and bureaucracy.
Musk's appearance at CPAC was nothing short of theatrical. Wearing sunglasses and a "Make America Great Again" hat, he waved the chainsaw on stage, declaring it the "chainsaw for democracy". This stunt was a nod to Argentina's President Javier Milei, who has used a chainsaw as a symbol of his own cost-cutting measures. Musk's performance was met with cheers from the crowd, but it also drew significant criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
The chainsaw spectacle was not just for show. It was a prelude to a series of drastic measures taken by Musk and DOGE. In the first month of President Donald Trump's second term, Musk has overseen the firing of over 200,000 federal employees. This mass culling has affected a wide range of federal agencies, from the Department of Education to the Department of Homeland Security.
The firings have been particularly harsh on probationary employees, those who have been on the job for less than a year and do not yet have civil service protection. The Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, dismissed over 1,000 employees, including researchers working on critical issues like cancer treatment and opioid addiction. The Defense Department also announced the layoff of 5,400 probationary workers and a hiring freeze.
Musk's actions have sparked widespread outrage and legal challenges. Lawmakers and employee unions have condemned the firings as illegal and arbitrary, and several lawsuits have been filed contesting the layoffs. Critics argue that Musk's approach is not only inhumane but also detrimental to the functioning of the federal government.[1]
. . .
During the Holocaust, Nazis referred to Jews as rats. Hutus involved in the Rwanda genocide called Tutsis cockroaches. Slave owners throughout history considered slaves subhuman animals. In Less Than Human, David Livingstone Smith argues that it's important to define and describe dehumanization, because it's what opens the door for cruelty and genocide.[2] [3]
. . .
Trump’s demonization of migrants has been a mainstay since he announced his first campaign in 2015 with a speech calling Mexicans rapists. But his rhetoric has become more extreme in his current campaign, and the dehumanization more explicit.
In addition to using the phrase “poisoning the blood,” which he started saying last fall, he has gone even further lately in demonizing migrants in his public comments. In a speech in Ohio on Saturday, he called migrants “animals” and said: “I don’t know if you call them ‘people,’ in some cases. They’re not people, in my opinion.”
He has similarly demeaned his political opponents, vowing in November to “root out” the “radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”[4]
. . .
Far-right activist Jack Posobiec – who has a long history of promoting antisemitic and white supremacist content – last week [Feb. 2025] claimed that he joined top U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on a trip to Ukraine. Posobiec, who is best known for promoting the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory, posted a selfie from an empty conference room featuring Ukrainian and U.S. flags and claimed he was at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Washington Post first reported that Posobiec had been invited to join Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's European trip. A U.S. official speaking on background because they weren't authorized to speak publicly confirmed to NPR that Posobiec had been invited on Hegseth's trip but didn't go. Posobiec later told Politico that he joined Bessent's delegation as part of the press corps.[5]
Posobiec is described in A Disgusting Heinous Book Substack post that I wrote last August:
In "The Horrifying Fascist Manifesto Endorsed By J.D. Vance" in the July 2024 "Current Affairs,"[3] Nathan J. Robinson wrote:
The book Unhumans, by Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec, is a fascist manifesto. It argues that the “Great Men of History” should take their cues from homicidal dictators like Augusto Pinochet and Francisco Franco, reject reason and democracy, and ruthlessly annihilate the gangs of communist “unhumans” who are currently threatening to destroy the United States.[6]
Last August I also posted The 2025 Plan To Takeover Government about the Heritage Foundation Project 2025, which the president, Kevin Roberts, described as a "revolution [that] would be greater than the American Civil War and the 1980 'Reagan Revolution.'"
Trump said that he would be a dictator on Day 1; after a month, there is no sign of an end. Hundreds of thousands of people are being seriously harmed cavalierly by Elon Musk at Trump's behest. The Republicans in Congress have fully enabled this assault and the Supreme Court has already given Trump free rein.[7]
Trump's and Musk's and Trump's Cabinet actions are not to Make America Great Again. They are heinous! They only make it great for the billionaires, like themselves.
It's a continuing scam! The homeless, the poor, the ill, the jobless, the under-educated, the indebted, the middle class, the retired, will not be great, or even, better.
Footnotes
Source: Microsoft Copilot and following references, 20250223↩︎
: New York Daily News
: USA Today
: MSN
: indy100
: AP News
: ABC News
: USA Today
Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others: Smith, David Livingstone: 9780312532727: Amazon.com: Books↩︎
Trump Doubles Down on Migrants ‘Poisoning’ the Country - The New York Times↩︎
Why influencer Jack Posobiec is traveling with Trump officials : NPR↩︎
Trump Tells Supreme Court It Gave Him 'Unrestricted Power' to Fire People - Newsweek↩︎