‘Saved the country’: CPAC Attendees See Silver Lining After Elon Musk’s DOGE Speech

Elon Musk’s remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday drew praise from attendees who were pleased with the cuts being made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“I wasn’t really that interested in being political. It’s just like there was at a certain point no choice,” Musk said at the event in Maryland while wearing a black MAGA hat and sunglasses. “The actions that we’re taking, with the support of the president and the support of the agencies, is what will save Medicare, what will save Social Security.”

“That’s the reason I’m doing this,” he added. “Because I was looking at the big picture here, and it’s like, man, it’s getting out of control.”

Musk emphasized the importance of fiscal responsibility, stating, “A country is no different from a person. A country overspends, a country goes bankrupt in the same way as a person who overspends usually goes bankrupt. So, it’s not optional to solve these things, it’s essential.”

Matthew Kochman, a New York real estate broker, praised the DOGE cuts, saying they “probably saved the country from financial collapse.” He added, “I thought it was all just common sense,” referring to Musk’s comments.

When attendees were asked about the proposal to use 20% of the money from the cuts to fund stimulus checks for American taxpayers, some raised concerns about whether the funds should instead help pay down the over $36 trillion national debt.

“I’m not sure I agree with sending money back. I would just assume money going to pay down our debt, because it is an existential threat,” said Angie Carrai of Vienna, Virginia. She added that Musk’s comments have “tapped into what a lot of people feel” about taxes being wasted on “ridiculous” programs.

Kochman, however, believes taxpayers should receive some of their money back while also using funds to pay off the debt.

Speaker Mike Johnson has also expressed concerns about the proposal from Musk and Trump, stating that the United States needs to “pay down the credit card” with the $2 trillion objective amount to be slashed through DOGE.

Pat Dennis, President of the left-wing American Bridge 21st Century opposition research firm, voiced concerns about the potential impact of the cuts. “He was talking about cutting programs that everyday Americans rely on, things like Medicaid,” Dennis said. “The implication that massive percentages of these programs just can be unilaterally cut because they’re fraud is not real.”

“People rely on these, voters rely on these, families rely on these, people in Republican districts rely on these,” he added.

DOGE has recently targeted spending through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as grants distributed by various cabinet agencies.