Elon Musk Fires Back at Bono After Singer Labels DOGE Cuts ‘Pure Evil’
Elon Musk has issued a scathing response to U2 frontman Bono, after the singer slammed the Tesla CEO over controversial government budget cuts.
During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Bono took aim at Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), calling the budget slashes under Musk’s leadership “pure evil.” The rock legend criticized the Trump administration broadly, with pointed remarks about DOGE’s impact on humanitarian aid.
Musk had been appointed to lead DOGE following a close alignment with former President Donald Trump during his campaign. Earlier this month, however, Musk announced his departure from the role on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating:
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
But Bono wasn’t convinced. Citing a Boston University study, he claimed DOGE’s budget cuts could result in over 300,000 deaths globally due to reduced aid.
“There’s food rotting on boats, in warehouses — 50,000 tons of it,” Bono told Rogan. “The people who knew the systems, who were responsible for distributing that aid, were fired. That’s not America, is it?”
Musk responded furiously on X, writing:
“Bono is such a liar. An idiot, too. Zero people have died because of the DOGE cuts to USAID.”
He didn’t stop there, adding later:
“South Park once called Bono the biggest piece of s*** in the world. They were right.”
Musk also voiced disappointment in the Trump administration for what he called the “Big, Beautiful Bill” — a newly proposed federal budget that promises tax cuts and increased military spending while slashing funds for health and energy programs.
Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning, Musk said:
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit — not reduces it — and undermines the work that the DOGE team has done.”
He added pointedly:
“A bill can be big or it can be beautiful. I don’t know if it can be both.”
In an interview with The Washington Post, Musk claimed DOGE is being unfairly blamed:
“DOGE is becoming the whipping boy for everything. If something bad happens anywhere, we’re blamed — even when we have nothing to do with it. The federal bureaucracy is worse than I expected. I knew there were issues, but trying to fix anything in DC is an uphill battle.”
