BBC News, in Erie, Pennsylvania
They sat around the breakfast table in Erie, Pennsylvania, four veterans in their mid -80s – John, Jack, Bob and Don – gathering to remember their decades of friendship.
But that’s another Don, this in its late 70s, which continues to crawl in their conversation: President Donald Trump.
Of the four, only Bob voted for Trump. But after seeing Elon Musk this week standing next to the Republican President in an oval office, defending his efforts to reduce the size and consumption of the Federal Government, he already doubted his decision.
“I’m afraid of him,” Bob says about the male. “I think he’s trying to be president.”
ERIA County was one of the key battlefields that helped overtur the presidential elections in 2024 in Trump’s favor. The Republican won 50.1% of the vote here just four years after his democratic rival Joe Biden had narrowly took the county.
And part of Trump’s winning platform was a clear promise for overhaul and increasing the Federal Government, promising a trace of the “trillion” campaign in the cuts if elected. The surveys have indicated that it is popular with republican voters, which is now the case.
What was less clear to the voters before the election was just how much the role of Musk would play in this administration. The 53-year-old owner Tesla, Spacex and X now runs the Department of the Efficiency of the Government (Doge), which is dedicated to reducing the Government and is routinely shown together with the President.
The members of his team entered different departments to monitor their consumption and offer millions of workers output route. They have switched to the freezing of federal funding, as well as the operation of agencies such as the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in the ballerinas of activities in recent weeks.
But given the extent of the impact of men in the emergence of Trump’s administration, Democrats are concerned about the conflict of interest, as well as masculine, whose companies have billions in the Federal Government contracts, are potentially taking action to use themselves.
“This is dangerous. This is against American interests,” said older Democrat Chuck Schumer. “And President Trump has to show some leadership and reign in Doge before causing more damage.”
This concern was shared by John Pelinsky, a lifelong democrat who threw his list for Donald Trump on November. He said Democrats had crossed too much to the left and wanted to help Trump a “center of land” for four years.
Although he does not regret his voice, he says that Musk makes him uncomfortable.
“He had his little child there with him in an oval office,” he said. “I’m not very comfortable with that.”
“I think Mušk’s influence might be a little too much on the president,” he added. “I see too much of him. You should just stick to your Spacex of your electric cars.”
In the meantime, Musk was clear that he believed that he was working to bring the wishes of Trump’s voters.
“People voted for a great government reform and people will get it,” he told reporters during the surprise of the White House this week. “This is a democracy.”
Recent BBC survey He suggested that most Americans advocate for Musk’s work, but did not agree on how much influence should have.
There were a lot of supporters in Erie was delighted to see a billionaire businessman, but two, who led the show in Washington.
Christine Barber replied the concern and said that the American people had chosen Trump to run the country, and he appointed a male to help him do so.
“I personally love him,” she said about the male.
“Financially, and from a business perspective, we need someone who knows what the hell do. And if anyone does it, they are Donald Trump and Elon Musk.”
Patrick Laughlan had a similar look. He said he believed Trump and male “to the extent that you can trust anyone you don’t know.”
“The guy is obviously great,” Laughlan said about the male. “Working well trying to get rid of waste. Both people try to bring money back to the Americans.”
Evan Slace, a restaurant manager, accepts Musk’s cuts into a system that he considers swollen and ineffective. He said he appreciated that a technological billionaire “donates his time to the country to help solve a big problem.”
“As he did in the micro aspect with Twitter, we hope he could do the same with our country,” Sascece said, referring to the mass release and spending the reduction of Musk implemented after the purchase of a social media company.
As for the charges that Musk has become too powerful in this white house, Lash said that he was not bothered.
“It’s already extremely powerful,” he said. “That has no difference.”
