The Left has always relied on the media and cancel culture to do their dirty work whenever they were offended by something or someone. In Trump’s “Golden Age,” this tactic may no longer be effective.
Elon Musk’s DOGE has been under fire by the Left and the press for exposing various government organizations — infamously, USAID — for their mishandling of American taxpayer dollars. DOGE’s staff are now under attack from the Left — and younger, junior staff members are no exception. (RELATED: Foreign Aid Reform: USAID Has a History of Funding Terrorists and Anti-American Organizations)
Questioning the seriousness of Musk and his staff, CNN called out Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old engineer hired by Elon Musk to work for DOGE, for using the nickname “Big Balls” online.
CNN just unintentionally made the funniest news segment of all time.
They reported on a 19-year-old DOGE staffer whose online name is “Big Balls.” ???? pic.twitter.com/DCaOXuASsu
— World Hall Of Fun (@WorldHallOfFun) February 7, 2025
In the segment, WIRED’s Katie Drummond further expanded on Coristine’s resumé and noted he founded “Tesla.sexy LLC” in 2021 — an LLC that owns multiple web domains. Musk got a kick from CNN’s reporting, trolling about it to his followers on X.
Another DOGE worker, 25-year-old Marko Elez, resigned from the Treasury Department after the Wall Street Journal dug up social media posts from Elez that were found to be racist. Resurfaced posts from Elez included comments such as “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity” or “normalize Indian hate.”
Musk conducted a poll asking X if he should bring back the “staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym.” Over 70 percent of responses were “Yes.”
President Trump and Vice President Vance later chimed in defending Elez. “I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life,” Vance posted. Trump later supported Vance’s position in a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Here’s my view:
I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.
We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever.
So I say bring him back.
If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of… https://t.co/OgG6Z3hKPE
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 7, 2025
Despite the Wall Street Journal’s efforts to bring down DOGE, cancel culture lost this battle. Musk told X users that Elez would be “brought back,” but his return has yet to be confirmed.
Elon Musk is no stranger to the sharp barbs of cancel culture. In a recent blow-up by the Left, Musk was criticized for his Hitler-like gesture during his speech at one of many events celebrating Trump’s inauguration. (READ MORE: Stop the Gaslighting on Elon Musk’s Arm Gesture)
The public’s opinion on Musk and DOGE seems bleak — an AP-NORC poll found that 52 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of Musk, and only 29 percent of Americans favor DOGE. Public opinion aside, this is not stopping Musk from getting the job done.
In the same press conference with Prime Minister Ishiba, Trump told the press that Musk and DOGE were directed to examine the Departments of Education and Defense Department. “He’s got a very capable group of people. They know what they’re doing,” Trump said.