Elon Musk wielded a chainsaw on stage at a conservative conference last night as he boasted the slashing of government spending and accused Democrats of ‘treason’.
‘This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,’ Musk declared as he held the gleaming power tool aloft at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland on Thursday.
The tech billionaire, who has been tasked by President Donald Trump to root out ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ in federal spending, spoke about his crusade to cut government spending and downsize the federal workforce.
He expressed openness to auditing the Federal Reserve and accused Democrats of ‘treason’ and election interference as he waved his new toy in the air.
Musk slammed the Biden Administration for its immigration policies, specifically naming an app that was used by nearly 1 million people to be allowed into the US on two-year work permits.
He accused Democrats of doing that as an ‘investment’ to get more support in swing states and ’tilt the scales of democracy’.
The red metallic chainsaw was gifted to Musk earlier in the day by Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei. It was engraved on its side with the Argentine leader’s coarse Spanish slogan: ‘Viva la libertad, carajo,’ which loosely translates to ‘Long live freedom, damn it!’
Elon Musk wielded a chainsaw on stage at a conservative conference last night as he boasted the slashing of government spending and accused Democrats of ‘treason’
The red metallic chainsaw was gifted to Musk by Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei. It was engraved on its side with the Argentine leader’s coarse Spanish slogan: ‘Viva la libertad, carajo,’ which loosely translates to ‘Long live freedom, damn it!
Musk appeared onstage at the GOP gathering outside DC, wearing shades and his trademark black Make America Great Again hat, and announced that Milei had a gift for him.
The Argentine leader then walked onstage with the red chainsaw and passed it to Musk.
‘This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,’ Musk, who has become perhaps Trump’s most influential adviser, shouted as he waved the tool. ‘Chainsaw!’
The Tesla CEO paraded it up and down the stage before laying it to one side and declaring he was ‘living the meme.’
During his CPAC address, Musk addressed his cost-cutting efforts, which so far have seen him gut the agency responsible for delivering US aid to the poorest countries in the world and fire thousands of federal workers.
‘We’re trying to get good things done. But also, like, you know, have a good time doing it, and… a sense of humor,’ he said.
When Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked him if he would consider auditing the Federal Reserve, Musk responded, ‘Yeah, sure, while we’re at it.’
‘Waste is pretty much everywhere,’ Musk said.
He also slammed into Democrats for their stance on immigration, accusing the Biden Administration for allowing migrants into the US to sway the election.
‘A lot of people don’t quite appreciate that this was an actual real scam at scale to tilt the scales of democracy in America,’ Musk claimed.
‘Treason?’ Schmitt questioned
The entrepreneur firmly responded, ‘Treason.’
Elon Musk displays a chainsaw given to him by President of Argentina Javier Milei during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland — February 20, 2025
President Javier Milei (right) smiles and gives a thumbs up as Elon Musk (left) wields the chainsaw that the Argentinian leader gifted to him
Musk, the world’s richest man, has enthusiastically promoted Milei’s speeches. Before Milei became Argentina’s president in late 2023, he would often brandish a chainsaw at campaign rallies as a symbol of his drive to cut the size of government
Elon Musk holds a chainsaw and a painting of himself that a member of the audience gave him as he leaves the stage after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference
Musk was first announced earlier that day as a speaker, drawing huge cheers from activists gathered at the CPAC.
Before his appearance, he met with Milei, who has been frequently praised by Musk and popularized the power tool while campaigning in 2023 and proposing slashing public spending.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has enthusiastically promoted Milei’s speeches.
Before Milei became Argentina’s president in late 2023, he would often brandish a chainsaw at campaign rallies as a symbol of his drive to cut the size of government.
Musk, who has been tapped by Trump to lead the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has led sweeping cuts targeting bank regulators, forest workers, rocket scientists and tens of thousands of other government employees.
On Thursday, 6,000 employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were told they would be fired, a person familiar with the matter said.
The billionaire, during his CPAC appearance, also joked that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has told him he is worried about his security and said he was open to ideas on how to improve his safety measures.
Musk, who has become perhaps President Donald Trump’s most influential adviser, has led sweeping cuts targeting bank regulators, forest workers, rocket scientists and tens of thousands of other government employees. Musk and Trump are pictured together at the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Texas
‘President Bukele from El Salvador, who managed to put in prison like a hundred thousand murderous thugs, and he called me. “I am worried about your security”,’ he said the Central American leader told him. ‘I’m like, “Dude, you are worried about my security?”‘
When asked to describe what is like inside his mind, Musk replied: ‘My mind is a storm. It’s a storm.’
Steve Bannon, a popular Trump ally who once served as his chief strategist, followed Musk’s appearance and acknowledged he was not the evening´s top attraction as he took the stage to a far less enthusiastic reception.
‘How did I draw the card to follow Elon Musk?’ Bannon asked about a man he has frequently criticized as insufficiently loyal to Trump.
‘C’mon man! You bring out the world’s wealthiest guy, Superman. I’m supposed to follow it? I’m just a crazy Irishman!’
Also on Thursday, Musk deepened Washington’s war of words with Kyiv by suggesting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky runs a ‘fraud machine feeding off the dead bodies of soldiers’.
It comes after the White House revealed that Trump was ‘very frustrated’ with Zelensky and had a ‘personal’ problem with the Ukrainian president.
Musk parroted Trump’s calls for the Ukrainian to call an election but claimed Zelensky had cancelled it because ‘he knows he would lose in a landslide’.
Writing on his X platform, he said: ‘In reality, he is despised by the people of Ukraine, which is why he has refused to hold an election. I challenge Zelensky to hold an election and refute this. He will not.’
Musk also ranted about the Ukraine president on his X platform Thursday where he parroted Trump’s calls for Zelensky to hold an election
Musk has claimed that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled the elections in his wartorn country because ‘he knows he would lose in a landslide’
Trump’s ally then added: ‘President Trump is right to ignore him and solve for peace independent of the disgusting, massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.’
While Musk did not elaborate on what he meant by this, his comments appear to echo Trump’s accusation that Zelensky wanted to ‘keep the gravy train’ of foreign aid running with the war.
The US President launched a scathing attack on his Ukrainian counterpart this week, blaming him for the war on his country despite Russia being the aggressor. Zelensky in turn accused the US President of falling for Russian fake news.
Trump hit back by labelling Zelensky ‘a dictator without elections’ – despite the Ukrainian leader winning more than 73 per cent of the vote in Ukraine’s 2019 presidential election and only pausing elections because of the war.