Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), should be demonized, escalating their feud.
Walz was speaking at a town hall in Youngstown, Ohio, when he slammed Musk, whom he has previously criticized harshly. He was discussing social media and the Democratic Party’s definition of success when he mentioned the billionaire tech mogul.
“We’re creating a false narrative for them that everybody is super rich and has Lamborghinis and life is easy,” Walz shared with the audience. “But that’s what we’re going to have to figure out in our society about social media and all those things.”
“But I don’t think we should be the party that demonizes someone because they’re able to afford something,” he explained. “What we should demonize is Elon Musk and others who engage in such behavior. “That’s different.”
Earlier, Walz stated that Democrats should send a message that it is “OK to be successful” and that success should be recognized.
“What my beef is, once you get successful, don’t be a greedy bastard and not pay your taxes,” he went on:
Walz, the former Democratic vice presidential candidate for 2024, and Musk have been trading barbs in recent weeks.
The feud began last month when Walz joked about regularly checking Tesla stock, which was down due to a string of vandalism incidents targeting the electric vehicle company.
“On the iPhone, they have that little stock app. “I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day,” Walz said, referring to Tesla’s stock slump as he held up his iPhone during a Wisconsin town hall called “The People vs Musk.”
Musk responded by criticizing the Democratic governor for his 2024 election loss.
“Sometimes when I need a little boost, I look at the @JDVance portrait in the White House and thank the Lord,” Musk tweeted in response to Walz’s comment.
The White House also responded to Walz’s comment about the billionaire’s company.
“When we need a little boost during the day at the White House, we walk around the corner from our office and admire these beautiful portraits,” wrote Trump’s Rapid Response team on social media.