Painfully soft and inane questions for Musk's White House swan song

It was billed by the president arsenic a property conference..

But that was close lone to the grade that determination were a fewer prime reporters asking questions successful the Oval Office.

They were portion of the 'pool', a chosen radical of journalists connected a rota to screen the president's movements each day.

The rota utilized to beryllium drawn up by the White House Correspondents Association connected a rotating basis.

The Trump administration has changed that. They present compile the pool.

And today, arsenic it happens, the media seemed peculiarly compliant.

The questions were soft. Painfully so.

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There was 1 connected whether the president had immoderate marital proposal for his French counterpart - who appeared to beryllium shoved by his wife the different day.

Another was astir whether Mr Musk thought it was harder to colonise to Mars oregon betterment government.

There were 1 oregon 2 astir the pressing issues of the day, similar Gaza, but thing that could beryllium described arsenic probing oregon doing what we are expected to beryllium determination to bash - clasp powerfulness to account.

And Musk, nether Trump, has without question wielded immense powerfulness implicit the past fewer months; unprecedented for an unelected official.

He upended the workings of national government, slashing thousands of jobs. He forced the closure of full departments similar USAID, changing America's planetary footprint.

He did it each with a consciousness of enjoyment. The literal chainsaw to bureaucracy was memorable.

There is small statement successful America astir the request to chopped authorities bureaucracy oregon chopped the debt.

America, much than immoderate state I person lived in, is simply a spot afloat of bloat and waste. Yet it was Mr Musk's methods which caused truthful overmuch unease among his galore critics.

They argued that wherever a scalpel was decidedly needed, Musk alternatively deployed a sledgehammer.

At times, his flamboyant benignant was a neat distraction from the substance of Trump's sweeping argumentation changes.

But nary of that was interrogated successful this 'press conference'.

Instead, the inane questions went on.

Trump was asked if helium would pardon Sean 'Diddy' Combs should helium beryllium convicted - helium didn't accidental 'no', but determination was nary travel up to analyse why.

He was asked if helium wished he'd go a justice fixed that they are blocking truthful overmuch of his legislation. He laughed.

There was a infinitesimal erstwhile irony appeared to person died altogether.

In the aforesaid enactment arsenic trumpeting his occurrence successful cutting authorities discarded - erstwhile helium has, successful fact, achieved a fraction of the $2 trillion savings helium promised - Musk congratulated Trump for deploying truthful overmuch golden astir the Oval Office.

The statesmanlike bureau has had an extensive, gaudy golden makeover costing undisclosed sums.

One newsman did inquire astir Musk's alleged cause use. But by attributing the communicative to the New York Times - who person made the allegations - Musk had an casual out.

"Why judge that fake news," helium fundamentally said.

Surely the evident question was "Mr Musk, erstwhile was the past clip you took ketamine oregon ecstasy?"

It ne'er came.

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We did get the reply to 1 burning question, trivial though it was, fixed what's going connected successful the world.

But it took 41 minutes for immoderate of the reporters to inquire it: Why was Elon Musk sporting a shiner connected his close eye?

His 4-year-old son, X, whacked him, helium said.

Maybe young X has immoderate sympathy for the thousands of national workers - mean Americans - who Musk fired astatine his president's pleasure.