White House pressed on Biden refusing to speak publicly ahead of shutdown
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked repeatedly Friday why President Biden had not spoken publicly just hours before a partial government shutdown.
X owner, billionaire and Trump-appointed co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, got into an online feud with former MSNBC anchor, Keith Olbermann.
The two exchanged brutal insults on Musk’s platform following the furor over Musk’s role in tanking an initial bipartisan deal to avoid a partial government shutdown this week.
Olbermann started the feud with an obscenity-laced post calling Musk a "fascist," while the billionaire and incoming Trump cabinet member ripped him for having a neurological disability.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INTERIM SPENDING BILL
Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann and Elon Musk blasted each other on X this week in a spat that seemed motivated by the ongoing spending bill fight in Congress. (Left: (Photo by Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images), RIght: (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images))
Olbermann wrote on Thursday, "So @elonmusk you also suck at politics lol f--- you fascist."
"You elevate Tourette’s to poetry," Musk fired back at Olbermann that evening.
Olbermann’s provocative post appeared to be another of the many strong reactions liberals had, concerning Musk, after he helped shoot down the first iteration of a 1,547 short-term government spending bill.
Musk and other conservatives expressed frustration at many of the bill’s provisions they deemed unrelated and unnecessary to a "clean" extension of government funding. The billionaire demanded that members of Congress who planned on voting for the bill get tossed out.
"Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!" Musk wrote on X this week.
Shortly after Musk posted his reaction to the bill, Trump's presidential transition team released an official joint statement by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance opposing the initial iteration of the deal.
REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE DUO
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks briefly to reporters just before a vote on an amended interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The stiff pushback from these figures caused negotiations between lawmakers on that version of the bill to implode, leaving them scrambling to come up with a new proposal ahead of a looming shut down at midnight on Friday.
In the wake of Musk’s post, liberal lawmakers and pundits have raged against the billionaire, accusing him of tanking the bill, and accusing the GOP of letting the non-elected commandeer the party and meddle in the government process.
Other prominent conservatives on the platform laid into Olbermann.
Conservative actor Matthew Marsden pointed out the irony of Olbermann having an X subscription, writing, "You support him by paying for your blue tick. Hilarious."
Comedian Chrissie Mayr also replied, "I thought you were leaving twitter Keith.