Trump vs. Musk: Distraction or Debt Disaster?

Welcome to O'Connor's Right Stand, holding the line unapologetically. This is the podcast where we draw a line in the sand for American liberty and take a wrecking ball to the bloated and overreaching government that's trying to choke our freedoms. Today is Saturday, June, as of when I'm recording this. I'm John O'Connor, a red blooded conservative who's had it with bureaucrats, the elites, and the politicians treating us like their personal piggy bank. This is our first episode, folks, and I'm coming out swinging with a story that's got the nation buzzing.

The explosive, no holds barred feud between president Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Two giants, two billionaires, once allies, now trading punches over a massive government bill that could bury us in further debt. Is this a clash of conservative titans, a betrayal of values, or a smokescreen to distract us from the real enemy, a federal government that's out of control? Today, we're diving deep, playing you five clips to bring the story to life and pulling no punches on what this means for our republic. So grab a coffee, a drink, and settle in.

Let's fight for the America our founders intended. Before we dive into the Musk Trump feud, which I had not intended to be my very first episode, let's take a moment to talk about who I am and why I'm here fighting alongside you. If you're going to join me on this journey, tuning in week after week or daily or a couple times a month, I don't have the frequency set, to O'Connor's right stand, you deserve a clear sense of the man behind the mic, the patriot leading this charge against tyranny. I'm a conservative through and through, unapologetically committed to the principles of liberty, faith, and family. I'm not a republican though.

I generally vote for them nearly 100% of the time because they do come closest to defending the values that built this nation. I'm a God fearing Catholic, a man who puts God first, my growing family second, my neighbors third, and my country fourth, in that order. Those priorities guide every word I speak, every stand I take. I'm not here to play political games or chase clout. I'm here to fight for the America we are losing, the one our founders bled for.

You'll hear echoes of Dan Bongino in my words, my arguments, and maybe even direct nods to his work. As a loyal listener of the Dan Bongino show, I've been shaped by his fearless truth telling, his unapologetic conservatism, and his ability to rally patriots. Dan's podcast inspired me to step up when he stepped into the role as deputy director of the FBI. I've been playing this podcast for over a year in my head, but Dan's influence and career shift lit the fire in me to act now. Dan, if you're listening, thank you for reshaping me as a true conservative patriot and now as an attempted podcaster.

I hope one day to shake your hand and tell you how your work fueled this fight. Until then, I'll attempt to continue carrying the torch, holding the line for liberty. I'm a 40 year old software programmer by day, not a professional podcaster, marketeer, or journalist. I'm just like you, a hardworking patriot who sees this country on the brink, bleeding under the weight of a government that takes 40% of our income and six point five billion hours of our time. This podcast isn't about getting rich.

I'm probably not gonna make a dime. It's about fixing what's broken, about rallying patriots to take back our freedom. I'm still finalizing platforms, but feel free to reach me on x at O'Connor's stand to share your thoughts, your stories, your fight. Send me constructive criticism to sharpen this blade or, hell, send some praise to fuel the fire. I'm here for it all.

This first episode tackles a broad issue. But as I hone my craft, expect deep dives into current events from the government overreach to cultural decay. If you prefer these big picture topics, let me know. This is your podcast built for you, not me. So now let's get into the meat and potatoes.

If you've been on X since June 5, you know it's been a wild ride. Donald Trump and Elon Musk, two of the biggest names in America, went from being best buds to bitter rivals faster than you can say, drain the swamp. This isn't just gossip. It's a seismic event for conservatives, and we need to unpack it to kinda understand what's at stake for our freedom. Let's set the stage.

In 2024, Elon Musk was Trump's secret weapon. The guy behind Tesla, SpaceX, and X dropped nearly 300,000,000 to help Trump win the White House, turning X into a powerhouse for the MAGA movement. When Trump took office in January 2025, he tapped Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. Elon's mission, slash federal waste, gut redundant programs, and make Washington lean again. Trump was all in, calling Musk a genius and even rolling out a Tesla Cybertruck on the White House lawn in March to celebrate their partnership.

On May 30, when Musk stepped down from Doge, Trump handed him a symbolic key to the White House. It was a conservative dream team until it was. Enter the big beautiful bill, Trump's flagship domestic pro policy. It's a mix of tax cuts, infrastructure spending, and other measures pitched as a boost for American jobs. Sounds great.

Right? But here's the kicker. The congressional budget office says it'll add 2,400,000,000,000.0 to the national debt by 2035. That's trillion with a t, folks. Money we don't have and borrowed from our kids' future.

On June 3, Musk took to X calling the bill a disgusting abomination. That undermines everything Doge stood for. He urged his 200,000,000 followers to swamp congress with calls to kill it, and that lit the fuse. On June 5, Trump fired back during a White House meeting. Let's hear it straight from the president.

I'm very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people. He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden, he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're gonna have cut the EV mandate because that's billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair. We wanna have cars of all types.

Electric, we wanna have electric, but we wanna have a gasoline combustion. We wanna have different. We wanna have hybrids. We wanna have all we wanna be able to sell everything. And when that was cut, and congress wanted to cut it, he became a little bit different, and I can understand that.

But he knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left.

That's Trump drawing a line in the sand. And if you listen, you can hear this thing in his voice, disappointment, maybe even betrayal. But Mustin blink, he hit back on x claiming without me, Trump would have lost the election. He even threw out an unverified bombshell saying Trump's name is in the unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files. Now let's be clear.

There is zero evidence for that claim. And now on O'Connor's right stand, we do stick to the facts. But it shows how personal this has gotten. Trump responded by threatening to cut billions in government contracts for Elon's companies, Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink. Tesla's stock tanked 14% on Thursday, losing a hundred and 50,000,000,000 in a day.

Musk even floated decommissioning SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which is critical for NASA before eventually backing off. This feud's got it all. Big personalities, big money, and big stakes. And as a conservative, I got one foot in each camp. Trump's America First policies are why we voted for him.

Trade deals, border security, bringing jobs back. But Musk is sounding the alarm on runaway spending, and he's not wrong. 2,400,000,000,000.0 in new debt isn't pocket change. It's a betrayal of fiscal conservatism. This fight's exposing a rift in our movement, growth at all cost versus discipline.

And while they're slugging it out, the real enemy, big government, is laughing all the way to the bank. To get why this feud hits so hard, we simply just need to zoom out. The Trump Elon clash isn't just about two egos. It's a symptom of a deeper problem, a federal government that's been growing like a weed for decades, choking out our freedoms. On O'Connor's right saying we're just not here to react.

We're here to connect the dots and show show you how history is repeating itself. So let's go back to 02/2013. The IRS under Lois Lerner got caught targeting conservative groups, think Tea Party and Patriot organizations, for extra scrutiny during the twenty twelve election. They delayed tax exempt statuses, drowned groups in paperwork, all because they simply did not like their politics. It was a straight up abuse of power, a government weaponizing its authority to silence dissent.

I remember the outrage, folks like us, regular Americans, rallying against a system that treated us like enemies. Let's hear a reminder of that scandal.

The news broke last Friday that IRS agents had applied extra scrutiny to groups with Tea Party or Patriot in their names when they applied for tax exempt status. The head of that IRS division apologized on Friday. Lois Lerner said it took place during the 2012 campaign. And she blamed low level officials in the agency's Cincinnati office, which handled the applications. But additional reports over the weekend said Lerner herself was informed of the targeting as early as 2011.

Other reports claim that the IRS also zeroed in on groups that focused on government spending or educating Americans about The U. S. Constitution. That information was based on a draft report from a Treasury Department inspector general.

That's the government we're up against, a machine that picks winners and losers based on who is in power. So fast forward to 2025 and the big beautiful bill of Trump. It's just another chapter in the same story. 2,400,000,000,000.0 in new debt per the congressional budget office isn't just a number. It's control.

Every dollar the government spends gives it more power to regulate, surveil, and dictate our lives. And when Trump and Elon are fighting, it's a distraction from that truth. Let's talk about the bill itself. Trump says it's about jobs, tax cuts, infrastructure growth. Sounds like the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which added 1,900,000,000,000.0 to the deficit but boosted GDP by 2.5% in 02/2018.

I get the appeal. Lower taxes means more money in our pockets. But conservatives didn't just vote for growth. We voted for a government that lives within its means. Elon's Doge was supposed to deliver that.

He pushed to cut redundant agencies. Did you know we have 400 federal agencies, many doing the same thing? The Department of Education alone burns 80,000,000,000 a year, much of it on bureaucrats and not the kids. Musk wanted to slash that, but this bill is going the other way. History is full of warnings.

In the nineteen seventies, federal spending exploded, leading to stagflation, double digit inflation, and stagnant growth. Reagan came in, cut taxes, but even he couldn't fully tame the deficit. By 2018, we bailed out the banks with 700,000,000,000 in TARP funds, ballooning the debt. Today, our national debt is over 36,200,000,000,000.0. Adding 2,400,000,000,000.0 more is like pouring gas on a fire.

And who pays? Not the elites. It's us. Small businesses, workers, families. All along, China's watching, holding our debt, laughing as we weaken ourselves.

So Elon's right to call this out, but his tactics, threatening to pull SpaceX's dragging or talking about a new America party feels like showboating. And Trump's response, threatening to gut Tesla's contracts, smacks of the same government heavy handedness we're fighting against. This feuds a microcosm of what's wrong with Washington. Too much ego and not enough principle. So what happens when two titans like a Trump and a must go to war?

It's not just drama. It's real world pain. Let's break down the fallout because this feud's ripples could hit every American. Start with the economy. When Trump threatened to cut contracts for Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink on June 5, Tesla's stock crashed 14%, wiping out over a hundred 50,000,000,000 in value.

We've already mentioned this. That's not just Elon's problem. That's pension funds, four zero one k's, regular folks like us who invest in American companies. Starlink's another casualty. It provides Internet to rural communities.

Think farmers in Iowa, small towns in Montana. If Trump pulls those contracts, it's not Musk who gets hurt. It's America's Americans who lose connectivity. So let's hear from a commentator on this economic hit.

So Tesla stock sank 14% yesterday, its biggest one day drop since 2020. Trump's media and technology company also fell not by as much, but boy, what a difference a day makes. Right? I mean, these stocks have bounced back today, not entirely, but we've got Tesla up about 5%. Trump's media and tech company up about 4%.

But I'll tell you what it has been a roller coaster ride for investors in both of these companies. Just to give you an idea since the beginning of the year Tesla is still down 25% and Trump's media and technology company is down nearly 40, Kira.

That's the kind of chaos we can't afford right now. Now let's talk about national security. Elon's threat to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft was a jaw dropper. Dragon is NASA's lifeline to the International Space Station. Without it, we are hitching rides back with Russia or China.

Not exactly an America First move. Musk walked it back after ex users like space patriot twenty two called him out saying, Elon, don't tank NASA over a personal fight. But the fact is, he even went there shows how dangerous this feud is. Trump's not blameless either. Threatening to cancel SpaceX contracts risks our space program.

SpaceX launches military satellites and supports national defense. If Trump follows through, it's not just Musk who gets hit, it's our security as a nation. This is what happens when personal grudges spill into the policy. The swamp loves it. While we are all distracted, they push bills through like this $2,400,000,000,000 monster.

And let's not forget the political fallout. Elon's talk of an America party for centrist is stirring up conservatives. On x, you have someone named MAGA forever forty five posted, Elon's turning on Trump. He's no conservative. He's just another globalist.

Meanwhile, someone named Liberty underscore John says, Elon's right about the debt, but starting a new party, that's a pipe dream. This feud's splitting our movement, and that's the last thing we need when we're fighting against a big government. What's the real story here? It's not just Trump versus Musk. It's about the soul of our country.

The big beautiful bill is a symptom of government that forgotten its place. Every dollar it spends, every regulation it passes is a step towards control. And when leaders like Trump and Musk are at each other's throats, it's a gift to the bureaucrats and lobbyists who thrive on the this chaos. I have two clips coming up. Both are from the same event, but they are a little bit longer than I would like to play.

They are from the twenty twenty five Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. And Warren Buffett's getting up there in age, and he's his speech is starting to slow down. So I think that is why these these two segments drag out. But he is speaking to the part or point of The US national debt is unsustainable. So here are those two clips back to back.

You know, and and government is the ultimate. So it it it it it really doesn't have any checks on it. And that's why it scares you to some extent about about what the future of the currency will be because they can print currency. And and if you have people that get elected by promising people things, and that doesn't mean that that they aren't sincere about all kinds of items, but there's no politician that says to anybody that, at least if they have money, that, you know, I really think you have bad breath. And if you don't mind, would you step over and away from me?

It just doesn't happen. They and so I because there's never been a country like The United States. But you know that if something can't go on forever, it will end, the quote of Herbert Stein, famous economist. And we are doing something because it's unsustainable. And and it has the it has the aspect to it that it gets uncontrollable at a certain point.

I mean, essentially, you just give up on it.

So what is Warren Buffett saying there? In those two clips as well as the entire meeting, he is essentially saying this US debt is not sustainable. And though we've been on the brink of collapse before, we've never coupled the debt with this high inflation. And so that could be catastrophic. We need to have a program like Doge.

He did not say Doge. I'm just not putting words in Warren Buffett's mouth. But we need to have a program that can check the government on what they are spending and how they are spending it. And finally, he sort of made a joke that he does not want that job, that that job would be incredibly difficult. And so that is credit to what Elon took on the task of doing.

2,400,000,000,000.0 in new debt isn't just bad math. It's a power grab. The government doesn't just spend, it controls. Take the Patriot Act of 02/2001, sold as security, but what did it do? It gave us mass surveillance.

Or Obamacare in 02/2010, sold as health care, but now it's just a maze of mandates. This bill is the same. It promises jobs but delivers the debt. And with the debt, more strings attached. Conservatives like us fought for Trump because he promised to drain the swamp, and Elon's doge was part of that, cutting waste and shrinking government.

But this feud's showing how fragile that promise is. Trump's pushing growth, but at what cost? Eglon's calling for discipline, but is he just posturing for attention? On x, at c b d c b underscore dodge doge nailed it. The media is hyping this feud to distract us from the bill's real cost.

And I'm starting to think they're right. The swamp wants us focused on drama, not policy. And here's the scary part. This could get worse. If Trump and Musk keep fighting, it fractures our coalition.

The left's watching, waiting to pounce in the for the twenty twenty six midterms. We can't let personal ego egos derail the fight for liberty. We need leaders who put America First, not their own personal grudges. The Trump Musk feud hits me hard because it's exactly the kind of distraction that lets the government off the hook. We rally behind Trump to drain the swamp, to put America First.

We backed Elon's doge because we wanted a government that works for us and not against us. But when they are trading jabs on x, it's like watching a referee miss the real fight, which is big government's creeping takeover. The big beautiful bill and its 2,400,000,000,000.0 debt isn't just numbers. It's a threat to the liberty I got into this fight to defend. And I know you're in it for the same reasons.

I wanna hear from you. Have you felt big government squeeze? Maybe it's a regulation strangling your job, a paycheck gutted by taxes, or just the dread of this debt piling up on your kid's future. Feel free to hit me up on x at O'connor Stand. Who knows?

I may read your response on my next episode. Last night, I was on x and saw two two or three different posts here. One from at patriot mom seventeen seventy six, and she nailed it. Trump and Musk need to stop this nonsense and fight the real enemy, big government, and I couldn't agree more. Also, at screep this guy asked, is this feud a setup to push the bill through while we're distracted?

Great question. Now if you did not hear, Chip Roy, representative from Texas, I believe the 20 First District, gave an amazing and fired up speech to congress. Now here's just thirty seconds of that thirty minute address.

It is not appropriate for us to run away from the fight now that these young men 80 ago ran into the fight to preserve. This country will not survive if we mortgage it away. And that's what we're doing. President Reagan was correct when he said that every member of congress when they come to this floor and they offer a new bill for a new program should offer a tax increase to go alongside of it. Because everybody in this chamber particularly on this side of the aisle are all too fine offering tax cuts because it's like selling dessert but refuse to put forward the spending cuts so that people have to eat the broccoli.

Now, if you've not seen or heard that fired up heartfelt speech from Chip Roy about the debt, I heavily recommend going to spend thirty minutes. You know, go find it on Rumble. If you can't find it there, unfortunately, YouTube. But spend the time watching that video to understand exactly why he actually voted for it, but also the reasons he has against it. That being said, Chip Roy is one of the few politicians that have plus a lot of plus ones next to their name in my on my spreadsheet.

Now what do I mean by that? Well, Dan Bongino, about three years ago, talked about the fact that we should never fall in love with politicians. They're they're either going to be plus ones or negative ones on a spreadsheet. And what what does that mean? Either he's a politician is doing something good that you agree with, that you think is in the moral interest of America, or they're doing something bad that's hurting America, which is a negative one.

And you kinda total those up to see where does this politician fall. And Chip Roy is one of the few politicians that does have a lot of plus ones next to their name. And so I just wanted to bring that up. Alright, folks. We've been through the ringer today, digging into the Trump Musk feud and the government overreach it's exposing.

So let's cut to the chase. What's the bottom line? And what do I, if you even care, think should happen? First and foremost, Trump and Musk need to put their egos aside and get back to their respective corners. They are not here to play rock star.

They are here for the American people, for you and me. I don't give a damn about stroking their egos or picking sides in their billionaire brawl. I'm rooting for both of them to do what's right. Trump to deliver on his America First promises and must to keep fighting government waste, but not if that means selling out our future. This feud's a distraction, and the real enemy is a federal government that's ballooning out of control with a new $2,400,000,000,000 debt bomb called the big beautiful bill.

Now do I want this bill to pass? And honestly, I'm torn. Part of me says it needs to pass at this point. Trump's got his mandate, and there's stuff in there like the tax cuts that could juice the economy like we saw in 02/2017. But 2,400,000,000,000.0 in new debt?

That's not conservative. It's a gut punch to fiscal responsibility. And Trump promised a balanced budget, but he does have three and a half more years to make good on that. Am I happy about it? Hell no.

That's 2,400,000,000,000.0 we're borrowing from our kids, handing China more leverage while bureaucrats laugh all the way to the bank. But I'm not ready to write Trump off yet. He's got time to fix it, and I believe he can. Here's where we come in. We can't sit back and watch this circus.

We've gotta get louder, fiercer, and more relentless than ever. Get on x, flood your senators' phone lines, tell them you're watching every bill now and in the for every dollar they spend. Demand transparency. Check the congressional budget office report for yourself. 2,400,000,000,000.0 isn't chump change.

We need to primary the swamp creatures in congress. Those Republicans that are not Republicans. Those career politicians who love big government more than liberty, root out this waste, such as those 400 federal agency Musk wanted to gut, and then force Washington to live Washington to live within its means. This isn't just about this one bill. It's about stopping the debt spiral that's choking our freedom.

On O'Connor's right stand, we are not just talking. We're hopefully building a movement. So share this episode with your friends, your neighbors, anyone who's fed up with big government. And follow us on all the platforms, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and I'll be building a website. We're in this together, patriots, and we need every voice to take our country back.

Until next time, stand strong, keep the faith, and let's make America great again. This is John O'Connor holding the line unapologetically, signing off.