'Childbirth isn't fun, but it's necessary': Republicans at CPAC shrug off voter anger at Musk
Source: Politico
02/21/2025 05:54 PM EST
OXON HILL, Maryland — A political backlash is sneaking up on billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump across America as they take an ax to the government. But inside the gleeful halls of the Conservative Political Action Conference, the vanguard of the Republican Party couldn’t care less.
At the annual gathering of conservatives inaugurated by Ronald Reagan, attendees are buying up Musk-related merchandise and the tech mogul is being feted as a chainsaw-wielding warrior taking on the deep state on behalf of Trump. If that gets a little messy sometimes, it’s just part of the process.
“Childbirth isn’t fun, but it’s necessary for the perpetuation of the species, right? I love what he’s doing. He’s a smarter guy than I am,” said Mark McCloskey, the attorney who became a celebrity on the right after he and his wife brandished guns at protesters in St. Louis in 2020. “I can tell you this, that it’s going to transform the country. He and Donald Trump are going to make all the difference in the world.”
That transformation has come at a cost. A survey by The Washington Post found that only 34 percent of respondents approved of Musk’s role in the Trump administration. Fifty-four percent in a CNN poll said it was a negative that Trump gave Musk such a prominent position and 51 percent said the president had gone too far in cutting the government.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/21/musk-doge-cpac-republicans-00205536
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