Elon Musk, who has bragged of putting US federal agencies “into the woodchipper” as he slashes government spending, paraded a chainsaw on stage before American conservatives celebrating President Donald Trump’s return to power Thursday.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei — who has used a chainsaw as a symbol of his own push to restore fiscal discipline — handed Musk the power tool before a cheering crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
The world’s richest person, who was clad in sunglasses, a baseball cap and a large necklace, paraded it up and down the stage before laying it to one side and declaring he was “living the meme.”
“We’re trying to get good things done. But also, like, you know, have a good time doing it, and… a sense of humor,” Musk said of his cost-cutting efforts, which so far have seen him gut the agency responsible for delivering US aid to the poorest countries in the world and fire thousands of federal workers.
Later he again picked up the chainsaw — which had the words “Long live freedom, damn it” written along its blade — to carry it off stage at a center on the outskirts of the capital Washington.
Musk was not the only one in a celebratory mood at CPAC, as conservatives revelled in Trump’s return one month ago.
Vice President JD Vance said he had been having “a hell of a lot of fun” in the weeks since the Republican billionaire took back the White House.
“The president keeps us on a pretty breakneck pace,” he told the fired up crowd, adding: “It’s been a hell of a lot of fun the past month.”
The Republican president has issued a blizzard of executive orders in the short time since his inauguration.
They have targeted a slew of right-wing priorities such as cutting government spending, tightening immigration restrictions and ending programs meant to combat racism and inequality in the workplace.
“Everybody’s happier,” Gabriel Garcia, who was attending CPAC after previously being placed under house arrest over his involvement in the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
“We got Trump back in office,” the 44-year-old told AFP jubilantly.
– All about Trump –
The annual conservative conference has become ever-more focused on celebrating Trump himself.
Among his allies expected to attend were White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Trump himself is set to address the conference on Saturday.
He gave a somber speech at the event in 2024, when he was running for president, describing the United States as a “nightmare” under Joe Biden.
As well as Milei, several right-wing and far-right leaders from around the world will also speak at the convention, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Conservative party leaders present at the convention range from France’s Jordan Bardella, Britain’s Nigel Farage to former Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Many are seeking inspiration back home following Trump’s successful comeback.
Former British prime minister Liz Truss gave a speech on the main stage on Thursday in which she said “patriotic Brits… look across the Atlantic with envy.”
“We want a Trump revolution in Britain,” she said, lauding his ally Elon Musk. “We want Elon and his nerd-army of Musk-rats examining the British deep state.
“We want to be part of the second American revolution.”
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