On 11 February 2025, the Oval Office was the stage for a grotesque political performance: Donald Trump, attempting to rebrand himself as a state reformer, and Elon Musk, playing the role of billionaire genius, signed what they dubbed a plan for “federal government reform.” With forced laughter and flashing cameras capturing this so-called “historic” moment, the two announced drastic workforce reductions and the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—as if they had finally discovered the magic wand to transform the US government into a Tesla-style corporate machine. But behind this shameless spectacle lies an ugly truth: this is not reform; it is a calculated takeover of the state, designed not to improve the economy but to consolidate Trump and Musk’s power and inflate their personal fortunes.
This ridiculous meeting ignited widespread criticism in the media, with many questioning: How can a man like Trump, who exploited the presidency in his first term to push policies that enriched himself and his allies, now claim to be “reforming” the government? And how can Musk, who has amassed billions from government contracts, suddenly pretend he wants to shrink the state? Is this genuine governance, or just another grand con?
During his first term, Trump was less of a president and more of a CEO who used his authority to maximise personal profits. Under the guise of “revitalising the economy,” he enacted a series of tax cuts that disproportionately benefited large corporations and billionaires, while the middle and lower classes continued to struggle under mounting national debt. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was nothing short of a gift to the wealthy, slashing corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%, causing corporate earnings—including those of Trump’s own businesses—to soar, all at the expense of the federal budget.
But it didn’t stop at tax cuts. Trump leveraged his power to expand his real estate empire, benefiting from deregulation policies that allowed him to expand his business empire with minimal government oversight. While pushing his “America First” rhetoric, his business ventures were expanding overseas, completely disregarding the interests of American workers.
Even in government contracts, Trump was never far from corruption. His businesses indirectly benefited from federal spending, with millions of taxpayer dollars funnelled into hosting government events at his properties—from Mar-a-Lago to his luxury hotels. Trump was not governing America; he was managing it as just another branch of his business empire—one where the elite thrived while the average citizen was left to deal with economic crises alone.
Meanwhile, Musk, who portrays himself as an icon of innovation and progress, is, in reality, just another tycoon building his empire on the back of government funding. His company, SpaceX, which he claims represents the future of space exploration, has secured billions in contracts from NASA and the Pentagon, making it one of the most government-dependent enterprises in the country. Even Tesla, hailed as a beacon of technological advancement, would not have survived without generous federal subsidies, tax incentives and publicly funded contracts.
The idea that Musk wants to shrink government is laughable. He wouldn’t be where he is today without billions in taxpayer-funded support. And now, after squeezing every last penny from government programmes, he wants to pretend he’s against bureaucracy? This isn’t reform—it’s an attempt to ensure that the government serves him and his interests alone, not the American people.
Perhaps the most absurd part of this theatrical performance was the announcement of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), supposedly intended to reduce federal bureaucracy. But the real question is: Who will be targeted by these job cuts? Will it be federal employees regulating corporations to protect consumers? Will it be environmental agencies fighting pollution? Or is this just a tool to dismantle institutions that don’t serve the interests of the ultra-rich?
We’ve seen this trick before. Cutting government spending has never truly been about benefiting the economy—it has always been a mechanism to shift wealth from the poor to the rich. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton launched the Reinventing Government (REGO) initiative, but at least it was based on a genuine strategy to improve efficiency without mass layoffs. Even Republicans, like George W. Bush and the Tea Party movement, attempted to reduce deficits through strict fiscal policies rather than hollow slogans. But what we are witnessing today is entirely different: a political stunt designed solely to benefit two men—Trump and Musk.
What Trump and Musk staged on 11 February was nothing more than another political farce, but this time with even graver implications. Instead of presenting a genuine vision for government reform, they are working to dismantle institutions that do not serve their personal agendas. While they promote the illusion of an “efficient government,” they are, in reality, paving the way for a system that works only for the wealthy, leaving ordinary citizens to suffer the chaos that will result from these reckless cuts.
In the end, nothing will change. The government will remain, but it will be weaker and less capable of protecting citizens’ rights. The federal budget will not shrink; it will simply be restructured to serve the elite. Bureaucracy will not become more efficient; it will just be another tool for a new class of businessmen who care only about their profits.
As for Trump and Musk, they will continue playing their roles, and the public will keep watching this ridiculous spectacle—until the day the truth becomes undeniable: that governing America was never about making it great again. It was just another profitable deal for Trump, and he was never interested in “Make America Great Again”—he was always after one thing:
“Milk America’s Gold Again.”
