Musk waves chainsaw on stage in bizarre CPAC appearance
The bejeweled power tool was a gift from Trump ally Javier Milei, the Argentinian president who has often wielded a chainsaw around in public
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SpaceX founder and Trump megadonor turned âÂÂspecial government employeeâ Elon Musk waved a chainsaw around and continued to accuse the Biden administration of abandoning American astronauts during a madcap surprise appearance on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday.
Musk, who took the stage alongside Newsmax host Rob Schmitt on the second day of the right-wing confab, immediately brought on a second guest â Argentinian president Javier Milei â who handed Musk the bejeweled power tool as a gift, apparently a reference to the figurative chainsaw Musk is taking to the federal government. Milei has repeatedly wielded a chainsaw in public appearances in Argentina.
After Milei left the stage, Musk engaged in a running back-and-forth with the television host touching on a number of topics. They included his journey from political neutrality to being one of President Donald TrumpâÂÂs most fervent financial backers, his concerns over his own security, and his desire to tour the U.S. gold depository at Fort Knox in Kentucky.
Elon Musk brandished a chainsaw on stage at the CPAC conservative conference (AP )Schmitt asked the SpaceX and Tesla boss what it was like âÂÂinside the mind of a genius.â Musk hesitated before replying: âÂÂMy mind is a storm, so ... itâÂÂs a storm.âÂÂ
Schmitt quizzed Musk about his claim that the Biden administration purposefully chose to allow a pair of U.S. astronauts to be âÂÂstrandedâ at the International Space Station after their Boeing spacecraft was de-orbited without them rather than allow MuskâÂÂs SpaceX to get credit for bringing them home.
Musk said he âÂÂabsolutelyâ believes Biden abandoned the astronauts and claimed the decision to leave them at the space station was entirely due to politics.
Asked about what it was like âÂÂinside the mind of a geniusâ he said his mind was âÂÂa stormâ ( Getty Images)âÂÂWe obviously could have brought them back sooner, but they didn't want to do what anyone who supported President Trump wanted,â he claim.
MuskâÂÂs accusation has been repeatedly contradicted by the astronauts at the space station, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who are set to return to Earth next month after being in space since their launch from Cape Canaveral last June.
Earlier in the day, the billionaire got into an ugly spat on his social media platform X with a former ISS commander, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who slammed MuskâÂÂs claim that Biden purposefully left Williams and Wilmore in space.
The billionaire charged with cutting government spending for Donald Trump got a warm reception at the conference (AP )After Musk posted a clip of himself making the same false claim during his joint interview with Trump on Fox News Tuesday, Mogensen wrote: âÂÂWhat a lie. And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media.âÂÂ
The SpaceX founder viciously attack the astronaut in return, writing in response: âÂÂYou are fully r*****ed.âÂÂ
Mogensen clapped back with a fuller explanation.
âÂÂYou know as well as I do, that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September. Even now, you are not sending up a rescue ship to bring them home. They are returning on the Dragon capsule that has been on ISS since last September,â he said.
He was gifted the chainsaw by Argentinian president Javier Milei, who has often used chainsaws in his own public stunts (REUTERS )In August, NASA had said they would return in February on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, before a delay was announced at the end of the year. The change, the agency said, gave both SpaceX and NASA teams the time to complete processing on a new Dragon capsule that was set to arrive to the companyâÂÂs processing facility in early January.
Recently, NASA said it may bring Williams and Wilmore back a little sooner than anticipated â but on a previously flown Dragon. That change will give SpaceX the time to complete the new spacecraftâÂÂs interior build and perform final integration activities.
Julia Musto contributed reporting
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