Trump & Elon’s Most Unhinged Press Conference Yet

Summary

Bulwark Takes: Episode Summary – "Trump & Elon’s Most Unhinged Press Conference Yet"
Release Date: May 30, 2025
Host: Sam Stein, Managing Editor at The Bulwark
Guest: Will Summer

---

1. Introduction to the Unprecedented Press Conference

In this episode of Bulwark Takes, Sam Stein and Will Summer dive into what they describe as “the most unhinged press conference yet” involving former President Donald Trump and entrepreneur Elon Musk. Released just days after Elon’s departure from a Trump administration role, the press conference has left commentators bewildered.

Sam Stein opens the discussion by characterizing the event as “weird” and hints at its significance as possibly Elon Musk’s farewell press conference. The duo sets the stage for a deep dive into the bizarre interactions and unexpected moments that unfolded during the event.

---

2. Elon's Quirky Demeanor and Attire

Will Summer notes, “Elon is being weird. He's wearing a weird shirt, you know, like a T-shirt in the White House. He's kind of looming over Trump at the Resolute Desk.” This unconventional choice of attire and behavior sets a peculiar tone, signaling that the press conference would deviate from traditional political discourse.

---

3. The New York Times Article and Ketamine Controversy

A significant portion of the press conference centered around a recent New York Times article alleging Elon Musk's “nonstop ketamine use” and its adverse effects on his health, specifically bladder issues.

• Peter Doocy, a reporter, confronts Musk with the allegation:
  “New York Times report today that accuses you of blurring.”
  (03:14)

• Elon Musk responds defensively, dismissing the credibility of the report:
  “Isn't this the fake news New York Times from Russiagate? They might have to give back their Pulitzer.”
  (03:18 - 03:32)

Sam Stein criticizes Musk's handling of the question, highlighting a rehearsed and weak response that failed to address the substance of the allegations.

---

4. Discussions on Pardoning P. Diddy

The press conference took an unexpected turn when Musk addressed questions about whether he would consider pardoning rapper P. Diddy, who was facing legal troubles.

• Peter Doocy asks:
  “Would you ever consider pardoning him?”
  (04:55)

• Donald Trump chimes in, maintaining ambiguity:
  “Nobody's asked. You had to be the one to ask, Peter.”
  (05:07 - 05:10)

Sam Stein critiques Trump's evasive answer as “classic Trump”, noting his tendency to “never rule anything out” without providing concrete information.

---

5. The Mysterious Key to the White House

One of the most perplexing moments was when Trump bestowed a key to the White House upon Elon Musk.

• Will Summer explains,
  “He claims this key gives you perpetual access to the White House, even when he's no longer president.”
  (06:09)

Sam Stein and Will Summer discuss the absurdity of the gesture, noting that Trump has previously handed out such keys to notable figures like Netanyahu. The key’s purported ability to grant “eternal access” is met with skepticism and bemusement by both hosts.

---

6. The Doge Project and Budget Cuts

The press conference also delved into the controversial Doge Project, where significant budget allocations were scrutinized.

• Donald Trump lists questionable expenditures:
  “$8 million for making mice transgender.”
  (09:17)
  “$45 million for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma.”
  (09:24)

Sam Stein criticizes the lack of transparency and rationale behind these allocations, suggesting that they were more about “culture war” issues rather than substantial policy initiatives.

Elon Musk attempted to defend the project's concept by likening it to Buddhism:

• “I liken it to sort of person of Buddhism. It's like a way of life.”
  (07:53)

However, Stein remains unconvinced, asserting that “it's very evident to me that it's a failure” despite Musk's assurances of building on its “successes.”

---

7. Elon Musk's Black Eye Incident

A particularly awkward moment arose when Elon Musk appeared with a black eye, leading to uncomfortable explanations.

• When asked about his injury, Musk admits:
  “I was just watching around with Lex and I said, go ahead, punch me in the face. And he did.”
  (10:34)

Sam Stein expresses disbelief:
“I'm never gonna tell my kid to punch me in the face.”
(11:00)

Will Summer likens Musk's explanation to dubious excuses often seen in politics, drawing parallels to Harry Reid’s faux injury stories.

---

8. Reflections on the Trump-Elon Dynamic and Broader Implications

In their concluding remarks, Stein and Summer ponder the implications of Elon Musk's exit and what it signifies about the intersection of technology, politics, and authoritarian tendencies.

Will Summer speculates,
“The Elon age may not be over, but... it's hard to say.”
(13:25)

Sam Stein adds,
“He represented this sort of ideal that they had in mind that like, you know, the tech giants who... could transform Twitter could do the same for government.”
(13:34)

They conclude that Elon's tenure highlighted the challenges tech leaders face in political arenas, emphasizing that government work involves complexities and responsibilities that may not align with the ethos of Silicon Valley magnates.

---

Conclusion

The “Trump & Elon’s Most Unhinged Press Conference Yet” serves as a microcosm of the tumultuous intersection between tech leadership and political power. Sam Stein and Will Summer effectively dissect the chaotic nature of the event, highlighting key moments that underscore the challenges and absurdities that arise when unconventional figures navigate the rigid structures of political discourse.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Peter Doocy:
  “New York Times report today that accuses you of blurring.”
  (03:14)

• Elon Musk:
  “Isn't this the fake news New York Times from Russiagate? They might have to give back their Pulitzer.”
  (03:18 - 03:32)

• Donald Trump:
  “$8 million for making mice transgender.”
  (09:17)

• Elon Musk:
  “I was just watching around with Lex and I said, go ahead, punch me in the face. And he did.”
  (10:34)

• Sam Stein:
  “He represented this sort of ideal that they had in mind that like, you know, the tech giants who... could transform Twitter could do the same for government.”
  (13:34)

---

This detailed analysis provides listeners and readers with a comprehensive understanding of the eccentricities and underlying tensions that characterized the press conference, offering insights into the broader narrative of tech influence in politics.

Transcript

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[Sam Stein]

Sam Stein, managing editor at the Bulwark, and I'm joined by Will Summer to discuss Elon Musk and Donald Trump's press conference that just concluded. I guess this is the farewell press conference for Elon. It was, it was, it was weird.

[Will Summer]

It was, you know, I mean, wouldn't that sum up his whole term in the administration? I mean, it, that my thought was like, you know, this is just how it began. Elon is being weird. He's wearing a weird shirt, you know, like a T shirt in the White House. He's kind of looming over Trump at the Resolute desk. I mean, that's, that's his thing. I guess.

[Sam Stein]

He is. Yeah, no, that is his thing. We're going to get into some of the moments, although it's tough to figure out actually if there was any news there. All right, so, yeah, like, it just got off to a bizarre tone from the jump because Trump took a laptop out and decided to play a CNBC clip from the inflation news this morning and then just sort of sat there with like kind of kind of Cheshire cat grinning his face, listening to it as the laptop pointed out at the press. And then it just got weirder from there. What were your highlights? Were there highlights? I think there's mostly low lights.

[Will Summer]

Low lights. I mean, you know, if you consider a guy having to face the, the press the same day the New York Times comes out with an Article about his bladder issues. I would say that's the article about his bladder issues. It talks about the bladder issues. Did.

[Sam Stein]

I don't know if the article was about the bladder issues. There's several other headlines there.

[Will Summer]

So, yeah, so obviously, you know, to the. You know, on Friday, the New York Times has an article saying, you know, Elon is rolling on ketamine nonstop. He's. He's like a. He's like a downtown Manhattan girly, right? And he's going wild for. For k. And then, you know, and among the other issues that. That frequent ketamine use causes is bladder issues. And they know. They say he's saying it's affected his bladder. Then later on, they're like, here's probably. It's like a bladder control thing or maybe bladder pain. And so then someone gets up there and says, you know, hey, one of the reporters says, what's going on with you and all the ketamine?

[Sam Stein]

It was Peter Doocy.

[Will Summer]

Yeah. So Peter Doocy gets up there and he says, what's going on with all the ketamine? And Elon clearly has, I would say, a rehearsed response where he goes, oh, the New York Times. Isn't this the fake news New York Times from Russia gate. And they're gonna have to give back their Pulitzer. I don't want to talk about that.

[Peter Doocy]

New York.

[Sam Stein]

Okay, hold on. Let's pause because that was a horrible Elon impression. It's got to be one of the worst. We're gonna play the actual clip now, and then you can judge. I'm not even gonna say anything more about it. It was so bad.

[Peter Doocy]

It's a New York Times report today that accuses you of blurring.

[Elon Musk]

Oh, wait, by tween the New York Times. Is that the same publication that got a Pulitzer Prize for false reporting on the Russiagate? Is it the same organization?

[Peter Doocy]

I gotta check my Pulitzer.

[Will Summer]

I think it is.

[Elon Musk]

I think the judge just ruled against the New York Times for their lies about the Russiagate hoax and that they might have to give back that Pulitzer Prize. That New York Times.

[Will Summer]

Let's move on.

[Elon Musk]

Okay, next question.

[Sam Stein]

All right, so, yes, he clearly rehearsed. Definitely different accent than what Will offered up, but close enough. I suppose I was a little. I gotta be honest. I'm not. I don't want to be too critical of the press, but I thought Ducey got steamrolled there, and then the fact that he just then went to, like, pure catnip for Trump. I think what he asked about, like, I have some of The. Some of the ones here. He asked about Emmanuel mcron and being hit in the face by his wife.

[Peter Doocy]

This week, there was a video on board a plane that showed the first lady of France slapping her husband, Emmanuel Macron. Do you have any world leader to world leader marital advice?

[Sam Stein]

He asked about auto pen and whether Joe Biden should be investigated by members of Congress.

[Peter Doocy]

Do you think that Dr. Jill Biden should also have to come in and testify about what she did or didn't do?

[Sam Stein]

He asked about Democratic consultants telling Democrats to act more like, you know, men.

[Peter Doocy]

Plan to avoid being swept in every battleground state again by spending $20 million to study how to speak to American men.

[Sam Stein]

And then he asked about P. Diddy and whether P. Diddy deserves a pardon.

[Peter Doocy]

You mentioned once in 2012 that Diddy was a good friend of yours back then. He has since found himself in some very serious legal trouble.

[Donald Trump]

No, that's true.

[Peter Doocy]

Would you ever consider pardoning him?

[Sam Stein]

It was just like, you know, I don't know. It felt a little weak, honestly.

[Will Summer]

I agree. Although, wasn't it interesting that Trump said, yeah, maybe I'd pardon P. Diddy?

[Donald Trump]

Well, nobody's asked. You had to be the one to ask, Peter. But nobody's asked. But I know people are thinking about it. I know they're thinking about it. I think people have been very close to asking. It's not a popularity contest, so I don't know. I would certainly look at the facts.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, but that's such. That's just classic Trump. Right? It's like he's never. He never rules out anything. I'll look into it. He's like, I haven't really thought about that question. Don't ask me that question. But I'll look into it. Never ruling it out fully, which normally would be a big red flag, but not for Donald Trump, apparently. There were some weird moments other than that he gave Elon a key. Did you know what that key was?

[Will Summer]

Yeah. So this is. This is interesting. This is kind of like a little Trump signature thing. Oh, there is.

[Sam Stein]

There is a story behind this.

[Will Summer]

Yeah. So every so often, he gives people a key to the White House. And the interesting thing is he claims this key gives you perpetual access to the White House, even when he's no longer president.

[Sam Stein]

Come on.

[Will Summer]

What's interesting about. No, this is real. And what's interesting about that, too, is he continued to hand them out when he was not president anymore.

[Sam Stein]

Who did he give them to?

[Will Summer]

So he's given one to the former prime minister of Japan. He gave one to Netanyahu. And in the Netanyahu case, he said, you know, and this is worth, you know, eternal access to the White House. One of them was for sale on ebay, which, you know, obviously put it on sale. Well, we don't. A close member of the inner circle is what the description was. But, you know, if that means you can get eternal access to the White House, I mean, what a steal.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah. You might have to get through some security along the way, but could be worth it. That's so weird. I had no idea what he was doing with that key. It just seems so random.

[Will Summer]

He said, you know, I've given this to a couple people.

[Sam Stein]

Elon was looking at it. Elon had some funny facial expressions during the course of this. He looked at the key a little bit quizzically, and then he did that thing where he kind of stares up at the ceiling and so looking around. And then he had that weird comment about the interior design at the White House. Did you see that one?

[Will Summer]

No, I didn't. What did he say?

[Sam Stein]

They were just sort of. He was admiring the gold trimmings and the eagle that was on the ceiling of the Oval Office. He's like. He's really, you know, the majesty of the. Of the room is, like, been restored, is kind of speaking Trump's love language there for a while.

[Elon Musk]

By the way, isn't this incredible? Look at this incredible look. I mean, it's stunning, I think, the way that the Oval Office, how the President has just completely redone the Oval Office. It's beautiful. I love the gold on the ceiling. Pretty nice. Yeah.

[Sam Stein]

They did talk a little bit about Doge. You know, they sort of got into, was it a success? Was it a failure? Elon said, well, you know, it's. I think he compared it to Buddhism. Is that right? Yeah, Buddhism, It's.

[Elon Musk]

I liken it to sort of person of Buddhism. It's like a way of life.

[Sam Stein]

And then he said, you know, we're going to build on the successes. But it's very evident to me that it's a failure. And Elon clearly knows it's a failure. He said, well, he'll be around and he'll continue to advise. But what do you make of their relationship at this point?

[Will Summer]

You know, it. It's strange. It seems like it. It. It really, like, at best fizzled out or, you know, at worst that he's being given kind of like a. All right, get him out of here. Let's give him one more goodbye press conference. I mean, this comes, of course, a Few days after he criticized the big beautiful bill, you know, I was like.

[Elon Musk]

Disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it.

[Will Summer]

When they said, well, Elon, you know, can you tell us about the biggest, greatest cuts in Doge history? And he said, well, I don't know, we found like some extra Microsoft Teams licenses or some extra software licenses. And he's like, all right, that's like at best, a hundred, couple hundred thousand dollars. That was what it was all about.

[Sam Stein]

They went through some other stuff, but they're like, there's some money for like Sesame street in the Middle east that they got mad at. And transgender mice, which is the classic.

[Donald Trump]

One 20 million doll Arab. Sesame street in the Middle East. Nobody knows what that's all about. Nobody's been able to find it. $8 million for making mice transgender. So they spent $8 million on making mice transgender.

[Sam Stein]

At one point. There are some funds for Burma, $45.

[Donald Trump]

Million for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships. In Burma. In Burma. Does anyone know about Burma?

[Sam Stein]

And Trump goes, does any everyone know about Burma? And is like, I think people know about Paramount. It's country. Yeah, we know about it. But he seemed to be like completely thrown off by that. And then he had this quote where he said, they tried to hook up wire to copper and it didn't work. And I was just totally lost at that point.

[Donald Trump]

They tried to hook up wire to copper and it can't be done. But we have a system that's 48 years old and would have a modern computer hooked into a very outdated computer. And they don't hook up. I mean, they didn't hook up.

[Will Summer]

I mean, and that really kind of sums up the whole Doge project, where there was really like very little effort to explain, you know, outside of sort of like culture war, trans stuff, as you mentioned, to like justify it. But the thing you mentioned, Elon's facial expressions. I mean, we've got to get into the black eye.

[Sam Stein]

Oh, that was my. I was going to say that for last, but since he brought it up, let's play this clip. Because Elon was sporting just a black eye and at some point it got too awkward for the members of the press to not ask about it. And so reporter just chimes in and. And then this ensues. I wanted to ask quickly, Mr. Moss.

[Rinse Advertiser]

Is your eye okay?

[Sam Stein]

What happened to your dry.

[Elon Musk]

Yeah, no, I was just watching around with Lex and I said, go ahead, punch me in the face. And he did. Turns out even a five year old punching you in the, in the face actually does.

[Donald Trump]

That was X. I did X. X could do it if you knew X.

[Elon Musk]

He's with his mom right now.

[Sam Stein]

Okay, so you're, you're, you're a father and I'm a father. I have a 5 year old. As Elon said, I have never once told my 5 year old, hey, do you just want to punch me in the.

[Will Summer]

I don't.

[Sam Stein]

Maybe that makes me weak. Maybe I should try it, but I don't want to try it.

[Will Summer]

They kind of hurt, hurt you enough on their own. You know, in terms of clambering the. This is one of the strangest excuses I've ever heard.

[Sam Stein]

Oh, you think it's a ruse?

[Will Summer]

Oh, absolutely. I mean this happens every so often in public life is like a, someone, a politician shows up with like a big black eye and they have to explain what happened. Like, famously, Harry Reid had a big black eye and he said, well, I had this exercise ban and it broke in the eye. And Republicans were like, well, I think he got beat, beat up by the mafia. But in Harry Reid's to his credit, I mean that seems like something that could happen. You'll get a hit in the eye. But Elon, just saying Harry like lost his eye.

[Sam Stein]

Like, it was like pretty bad. It was like a very significant injury. This was not quite at that level, but go ahead. Sorry.

[Will Summer]

Well, but I mean, the idea of just saying, oh, oh, shoot, I hurt my eyes somehow. I need to explain it. I'm gonna say I asked my son to punch me as hard as he could in the eye. Like, that's not a very good explanation.

[Elon Musk]

Excuse.

[Sam Stein]

It just doesn't strike me as credible. Like I, I'm never gonna tell my kid to punch me in the face.

[Will Summer]

And then it turned out he was stronger than I thought.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah. Oh, I would shoot like, even if he wasn't strong, like, why do you want. I don't punch. Don't punch me in the face. I don't want it.

[Will Summer]

Well, you could leave the eye alone.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, yeah, punch me in the shoulder. Like, just not my face. It just doesn't make sense. But I guess it's like a sort of an interesting illustration of the entire Elon Musk episode where it was just like self inflicted facial wounds. All right, any other final thoughts? Are we this chapter of Elon. I don't think it's the last one, but I don't know, I've been thinking a lot about sort of what it says on a larger scale about D.C. and, and these tech giants and Trumpism and, And all that. And I don't know. Do you have any sort of big picture thoughts on this?

[Will Summer]

You know, I feel like, like this. Him leaving now sort of illustrates how weird it all was. Like, I feel like when we were in it, you know, and it was like.

[Sam Stein]

You say that in the past tense.

[Will Summer]

Well, well, you know, I mean, you're right. I mean, the Elon age may not be over, but. But the. I don't know, it, you know, it's hard. It's really hard to say. I mean, I. I don't know if this represents, like, the Trump administration coming to. I hate to say reality, but sort of to like a more, you know, pushing out Elon and sort of like the Doge era is closing and now we're getting into more like, you know, let's spend. Let's spend in a Republican way.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, no, I think that's right. I think it's like he represented this sort of, this ideal that they had in mind that like, you know, the tech giants who, you know, could transform Twitter could do the same for government. And because it's a magnified version of it, they were embracing it. And in reality, it's just, it's all, you know, it's just like with Bongino and them, it's like once they get into the trappings of power, like, oh, my God, this is actually hard work. And like, that was. And. And actually, I don't want to give away your next false flag, but this is again, another example of them coming and be like, you know, it is a lot of technical work. There's so many line items. And it's like, yeah, government work is hard and it's not glamorous. And even if you've like launched a bunch of rockets into space, it doesn't mean you're equipped to do this. And I think that's been humbling in addition to getting punched in the face by your child. All right, Will, thank you so much, man. Appreciate it. Appreciate that you endured that. I. I was expecting something. I enjoyed it. You enjoyed it. Okay, good. You're a sadist. All right, thank you guys for watching this. Appreciate you watching our feed and subscribing to it.

[Rinse Advertiser]

These days I can do anything from my phone book, a vacation, order a meal from a five star restaurant, buy and trade stocks. But maybe the most amazing thing I can do is make my dirty laundry disappear and then reappear perfectly washed and folded. I have rinse to thank for that. I just schedule a pickup in the rinse app. [e-mail], a rince valet comes to get my clothes, and before I know it, they're back, crisply folded and ready to wear. They even do dry cleaning, which is returned hanging in a nice rinse garment bag. And with rinse, my satisfaction is guaranteed. If for any reason I'm not happy, they'll reclean my clothes for free. Best of all, Rinse saves me tons of time each week. That's time I get to do something I love versus something I have to do. So if you want to save loads of time by not doing loads of laundry, remember there's an app for that rinse. Sign up now and get $20 off your first order at rinse. Com. That's R I N S E dot com.