Politics, government and DOGE
- Q3 Where do you stand politically?
He said it was important to elect President Trump to steer toward a free-market economy and less bureaucracy. His simple platform is safe cities, secure borders, and aspirationally sensible spending, and he thought Trump would be better than Kamala Harris on those.
- Q4 What did DOGE accomplish?
He said it was impossible to solve the deficit from within the government: cutting waste makes enemies, and President Trump likes to be liked. He also said the year had gone on too long, it was a little seductive (Oval Office, Marine One, Air Force One), he got carried away with the chainsaws, left sometime in May,…
- Q26 What do you think of tariffs?
Much easier; solar tariffs are nuts, though countervailing tariffs against subsidies can be justified.
- Q41 What about immigration and H-1B?
He said if a culture has diametrically opposed views, you could take Islam: many Muslims are quite reasonable, but some are not, and unless you filter for jihadis you will get jihadis who kill people. He pointed to Israel's pragmatic approach.
- Q42 Is government a danger with AI?
The biggest danger of AI and robotics going wrong is government; limit government's power.
- Q46 Do regulations hold you back?
You can always add more regulatory oversight later, but it is very hard to reduce. He wants a fast step labs and China might actually agree to, rather than a one-way ratchet of new rules.
- Q120 How should government award contracts?
He calls for class action lawsuit reform, saying bad suits effectively tax consumers.
- Q43 Will Britain face civil war?
If a fast-growing group with views antithetical to Western values keeps growing, there will be a reckoning; probably ~20 years away.
- Q28 Should you have Starlink's geopolitical power?
He doesn't think Starlink determines the war's outcome; worked with Ukraine on a whitelist; wants a pragmatic peace.
- Q64 Are Social Security records full of people marked alive past age 120?
A check of the Social Security database of living Americans eligible for Social Security showed over 400 million people, including one marked 360 years old, which he called a red flag.
- Q65 Will DOGE cut Social Security benefits?
He said the single biggest fear is that DOGE will turn off fraudulent entitlement payments — Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, disability, SBA loans — to people who should not get them, including illegals.
- Q66 What was the federal-worker pulse-check email?
The email was a pulse check, not a performance review: if you have a pulse and two neurons you can reply. They are trying to find dead or fictional people on the payroll collecting paychecks.
- Q67 Should the gold at Fort Knox be audited?
About 5,000 tons of gold: it is the public's gold and they want to see it, including a live tour. He does not know if it is all there.
- Q85 Are you stepping down from DOGE? (asked on X)
In April 2025 he said that from the next month he would give far more of his time to Tesla.
- Q88 Is DOGE looking at private financial data? (asked on X)
Denies DOGE holds any personal data of Americans.