this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2025
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Summary

Multiple polls show that a significant portion of Americans oppose Elon Musk’s influence in government, particularly through DOGE.

A CBS/YouGov poll found that nearly half of respondents want Musk to have little or no influence, with opinions split along party lines.

Other polls from The Economist, Quinnipiac, and advocacy groups also reveal broad concerns over Musk’s power and lack of oversight.

Meanwhile, the White House continues to defend Musk and selectively highlight poll results that support Trump’s administration while ignoring criticism.

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[–] [email protected] 215 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

A CBS/YouGov poll found that nearly half of respondents want Musk to have little or no influence, with opinions split along party lines.

"Nearly half"

"opinions split along party lines"

So the Republicans are still bootlicking fascism. Nothing has changed. There's no mass outcry from people who just now realized it.

It's the same 'nearly half' of the country that's sane.

[–] [email protected] 66 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

Even if there was, it wouldn't stop what's happening. The current administration gives no fucks about public opinion. If they did they wouldn't have repeatedly lied in their campaign nor would they be following the largely unpopular Project 2025

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-project-2025-broadly-known-severely-unpopular-voters-rcna172660

What we can do about it is start forming mutual aid networks and unions. These will help us form a cohesive front against the fast forming authoritarian government that's being installed.

If anyone wants resources to learn more about this you can find a rough draft here.

https://lemmy.world/comment/14977955

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Nearly half is closer than what the presidential elections were... So, progress?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

You have found the tinfoil lining in this cloud. You're right though, progress is progress.

[–] CileTheSane 73 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Unless someone is going to enforce consequences on them they don't care if 100% of the population disagree with them.

Trump can't legally get elected again and Musk wasn't elected at all, why the fuck would they care what the public thinks?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Trump can't legally get elected again

Trump can't legally sexually assault women, but that still happened. We'll see how this plays out.

[–] CileTheSane 8 points 2 weeks ago

Either way, public opinion no longer matters to him unless there are actual consequences attached.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Hah! Elections you think we'll be getting more of those at this rate?

[–] CileTheSane 9 points 2 weeks ago

So again, no reason for them to care if they are unpopular.

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[–] [email protected] 67 points 2 weeks ago

A CBS/YouGov poll found that nearly half of respondents want Musk to have little or no influence, with opinions split along party lines.

So literally what any of us would have predicted as the outcome to this poll, and it doesn't matter anyhow, because Trump is fully in "whatever, I'll do what I want" mode.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Musk’s DOGE crusade is the perfect allegory for late-stage oligarchy: a billionaire playing cabinet minister while polls scream 46% want him gone. The partisan split here is theater – Republicans cheering their own disenfranchisement through regulatory capture, Democrats clutching pearls they helped string.

That White House press flacks can’t confirm his security clearance while he raids Treasury datasets? Peak technofeudalism. They’re not even pretending anymore – just raw power consolidation masked as "efficiency."

Meanwhile, the Education Department "doesn’t exist" but somehow gets staffed by meme lords with racist post histories. This isn’t governance; it’s a hostile takeover using government letterhead.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah it's a coup. There's no getting around that this isn't the government.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Then why did they vote for or refuse to vote against him?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago (17 children)

It was clear he was part of Trump's plan so yeah, plenty of people voted for him.

That's like saying no one voted for migrant deportations because what they voted for was a person, not their program, well no, if something is part of their program then that's something you're voting for.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Read the article. The people who voted for Trump still think Musk is fine.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago

That still leaves those who didn't vote against it being idiots 🤷

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Because there are propaganda networks out there and these have tried to convince their users and viewers that Elon is doing the right thing.

We can blame our judicial and legislative branches for allowing propaganda networks to be funded by oligarchs. These people too were being bankrolled by the ultra wealthy.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

People be dumb. I know I am.

[–] OutlierBlue 32 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes but were those polls taken on Twitter?! That's the only valid poll to Elon.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Those aren't even valid. Remember the one where he asked if he should quit being CEO and people said yes by a vast majority?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago

LOL I forgot about that, what a dork.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Well, now he has driven most sane people out of the platform so if he repeats the poll he will get the result he wants!

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I’ll file this in the not helpful “hopium” or copium folder of discourse that is actually harmful to enacting change. It leads you to believe the tides are shifting in your favor and all will be ok when that’s actually not the case.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I live in a solidly conservative area and I heard a surprising but also encouraging conversation this morning at the doctor's office.

When I walked in, there were a handful of folks in the waiting area and they were talking supportively of JD Vance, so presumably conservative voters. It was off putting for me and I was immediately a bit irritated that I can't even go to the doctor without having to listen to this bullshit.

But as the conversation continued, they actually started talking about how super wealthy people worth hundreds of millions aren't paying their fair share of taxes, how they're ruining towns and making middle class people pay for it, and things like that. Specifically they were talking about some of the environmental damage done to waterways by rich people (they mentioned someone specific but it wasn't a name I am familiar with and I don't recall what it was) and how the clean-up is being paid for by middle class tax payers.

So, while we might all disagree substantially on a lot of topics, I think a disdain for super wealthy / elites not paying their fair share is some common ground to build on.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

That is pretty common when you hear conservatives talk. You often agree about the issues, but then you suddenly hear crazy conspiracy theories about why everything is the fault of immigrants, jews, trans people or whatever.

When conservatives talk about the rich and powerful being bad, its often about some "globalists", "George Soros", "World Economic Forum", "Liberals", ... than just the system being bad.

That is the reason why the leftist critique should always focus on the system, not specific people or groups.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

You're in for 4 awesome years of Musk in the gov, champs. But hey, you voted for it, so I don't understand why are you now showing disagreement with what they told you they would do.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

it would seem about 60-70% of americans never have any idea what's really going on around here. you run into enough people who say shit like "i voted for trump but i'm going to vote against project 2025" that it's just astounding. so now probably 10-20% of us are gearing up for a fight for survival while 25-35% of the populace have been geared up to be the modern day brownshirts carrying out the oncoming genocide. the remaining 45-65% are just rolling along like this is all perfectly acceptable normal politics. they're acting like this is just the cost of doing business and it's not their place to do or say anything.

they're who's really responsible in all this. fuckers.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

One comment I remember from right before the election was a person saying how their cashier said “well, anybody but Biden right?” and they were like “Biden…Biden isn’t running.”

I don’t get it. I do not understand how people could be so blind to politics that they wouldn’t even know who’s running, but then I talk to real people and it’s like “oh.”

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

i just want to knows what these people do all day

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Right? To not get any news, even by accident, is wild. I know I’m in a position that sees it more, and it does rake some setup(an app or two with notifications does a lot of the heavy lifting) but I mean come on.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Ive met a couple folks who can do this, they just listen to music they have on their phone or whatever and do hobbies that dlnt require outside interaction. They are pretty much completely insular information wise and are usually a step behind for all news, they are also extremely vulnerable to right wing nonsense since they dont interact with any outside information on the regular.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

I’m 100% certain that the “you” is directed at the republican voters. If you were one of them, then maybe the whole “Musk is going to be in charge of a new department and do all this crazy shit” somehow slipped by you, but it was definitely said very loudly.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah great, but the fucking damage is done and who knows what that neo-Nazi lunatic will do with the information. I hope the NSA, CIA and FBI nab his worthless ass.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago

I also want him of Earth for what it's worth. Let him pack up a Space X rocket and head to Mars. Start that colony he said we'd absolutely would have by now, because it's so easy (according to him). He's be the first person in Mars!

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago

Another pointless article.

  • Polls are crap. Who answers those calls? The same damn people over and over.
  • The results are " strong feelings" or " nearly 50%" !?!?

I usually ignore motherj articles anyway.... Guess I can keep doing that

It is what it is at this point, and as usual, Democrats will completely mis-read the room and rant about shit that won't win them the midterms. The best we can hope for is TheIdiot falling flat on his face.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

Watch how quickly it takes them to do nothing at all about this.

[–] floofloof 10 points 2 weeks ago

Yet more evidence shows Elon Musk and his cronies at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are unpopular with many Americans.

Nearly half of people who responded to a new CBS/YouGov poll out today said they want Musk to have less influence over government spending and operations, including nearly a third who think they should have none at all. The poll found that 18 percent of respondents said that Musk and his DOGE acolytes should have “not much” influence on government operations and spending, while 31 percent said they should have none at all. Predictably, the support differed along partisan lines: Nearly three-quarters of Republicans surveyed said Musk and DOGE should have “a lot” or “some” influence, whereas more than two-thirds of Democrats said they should have “not much” or “none.”

They're really reaching with that headline. It's in the territory between clickbait and positively misleading.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

This is the point when asking is useless. There needs to be telling. The purest form of authority isn't going to wield itself.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

I love these polls that report on obvious conclusions that don't require polling.

Like yeah, no shit. The problem is the people holding the reins of power couldn't give two shits what the American public wants or thinks.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

Like they give a shit about polls now that they’re untouchable.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

Probably shouldn’t have NOT VOTED.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

when we vote to deport grandma, lose your farm and keep prices high

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