A Wall Street Journal poll conducted before the inauguration of Donald Trump has revealed that Elon Musk‘s popularity is falling after he took over the reins of the Department of Government Efficiency. The poll was taken between January 9 and 14 among 750 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5%. The news agency conducted the survey via telephone and text-to-web with respondents.
“Half say it is a bad idea for Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO advising Trump on federal spending cuts and other matters, to serve as an adviser, while 39% say it is a good idea,” the Wall Street Journal poll said.
In October before the election, however, Elon Musk’s favorability was higher.
“Republicans remain overwhelmingly supportive of Trump’s cabinet nominations and handling of the presidential transition. But voters overall are equivocal: Some 46 per cent approve of his nominations and 47 per cent commend his performance as president-elect, with essentially equal shares disapproving,” the WSJ report said.
By a margin of 64 per cent to 31 per cent, voters oppose ending birthright citizenship—the constitutional provision that someone born in the US is a citizen, which Trump eliminated after coming to office.
Despite Elon Musk’s growing unpopularity, the Tesla CEO is becoming more powerful in the MAGA inner circle. From co-chief of DOGE, he has now become the only chief of the department as Vivek Ramaswamy made his exit from the agency. On day one of the Trump administration, Elon Musk reportedly got a White House email ID and an office space near Donald Trump.
So far, DOGE has been functioning out of SpaceX offices but they will have an office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building which is in the White House complex but not in the West Wing proper. An NYT report said Elon Musk for many days asked about his level of access in the White House signaling a desire to be close to Trump. Musk was given a badge for the White House complex and already started working from there.
