Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, has become a central figure in US politics, with Democrats and Republicans alike taking aim at him. In recent weeks, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has criticized Musk’s immigration status, calling him an “unelected South African nepo baby” during a town hall event.
Musk was born in South Africa but has been a US citizen for over two decades. The attack on his immigration background is part of a broader trend among Democrats to frame the conservative candidate Brad Schimel as the main villain in a high-stakes State Supreme Court race, with Musk pouring millions into the campaign.
The attacks on Musk echo some of President Trump’s own xenophobic insults towards his political foes, but Democrats are attempting to adapt this strategy to fit their own party’s values. Representative Marcy Kaptur and Representatives Nydia Velázquez and Don Beyer have also used similar language in recent protests.
In other news, a federal judge has ruled that efforts by Musk and his team to shutter the US Agency for International Development (US.AID) likely violated the Constitution. The ruling noted that Musk’s own words and posts highlighted his lead role in dismantling the agency, which provides Ebola prevention aid.
Musk has also used his social media platform to join Trump’s calls to punish federal judges who rule against the administration. His comments have sparked fact-checking from X’s community-run system, which pointed out that he would need 67 senators to remove a federal judge.
A recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that 57% of federal workers believe most or all of Trump’s executive orders affecting their agencies are illegal, and 17% of those polled had voted for Trump.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/us/politics/tim-walz-elon-musk-democrats-immigration.html