Elon Musk is apparently taking a step back from politics. Or so he says. And by taking a step back, he means not writing big checks to political candidates.
Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, Musk said, “I think, in terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future.”
When asked why, Musk said, “I think I’ve done enough.”
Musk donated $290 million of his own money to back Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. He also dumped millions into a Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign, but the candidate he backed lost badly — an embarrassing blow to Musk.
When asked if his decision to step back politically was partly due to all the “pushback” he has received from those critical of his role within the Trump administration, including overseeing massive federal cuts by his Department of Government Efficiency, Musk briefly paused and said, “Well, if I see a reason for political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason.”
This comes at a time when Musk is planning to take a step back from the Trump administration.
Later on Tuesday, Musk was a guest on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” with David Faber from the Tesla headquarters in Austin, Texas. The two talked much about Tesla’s robotaxis, but they did get into whether Musk’s governmental work impacted his Tesla business.
Musk said there were “pros and cons” and said he had no regrets about telling Faber two years ago that he would say what he wanted to say.
Musk told Faber, “I believe that we want to live in a free society where people are allowed to say what they want to say within reasonable bounds, like you know, you can't advocate for the murder of somebody, but free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy. That's why it's the First Amendment.”
Faber pointed out that Musk’s association with Trump, as well as his work with DOGE, has made him disliked by many. Faber then asked if it was all worth it.
Musk said, “Well, I mean, unfortunately, what I've learned is that legacy media propaganda is very effective at making people believe things that aren't true.”
When asked for an example by Faber, Musk said, “That I'm a Nazi, for example, and how many legacy media publications, talk shows, whatever, try to claim that I was a Nazi because of some random hand gesture at a rally where all I said was that my heart goes out to you, and I was talking about space travel, and yet the legacy media promoted that as though that was a deliberate Nazi gesture when, in fact, every politician, any public speaker who’s spoken for any length of time, has made the exact same gesture; and yet there’s still people out there — and I’ve never harmed a single person.”
Chuck Todd’s new gig
Here’s the trailer for Chuck Todd’s new venture: “Sunday Night with Chuck Todd.”
Each Sunday, the former “Meet the Press” moderator will interview Washington newsmakers from iconic spots — including restaurants and bars. The show will air on Noosphere.
In a statement, Todd said, “I could not be more excited about launching a new show with real conversations, in person, that cut through so much noise and loud opinion at a moment when it’s needed the most. The show offers us a chance to break out of both network studios and home-based Zoom calls, to where we can see people face to face in normal environments, and come to learn from one another what’s really happening in Washington DC at this crucial time.”
Headed toward home
ESPN’s “Around the Horn” wraps up its 23-year run this week, with the final episode of the sports debate show airing on Friday.
It has been the first half of ESPN’s 5 to 6 p.m. Eastern block known as “Happy Hour,” followed by the wildly successful and groundbreaking “Pardon the Interruption.” “ATH” features sports journalists from four locations around the country, giving their takes on the sports news of the day.
Tony Reali, who has been the host of “ATH” since 2004, has been making the media rounds over the past week — showing the glass-half-full optimism that he is known for, and yet clearly stung by ESPN’s decision to cancel the show. He was a guest on Dan Patrick’s show, as well as Pablo Torre’s podcast. He was featured in “People” magazine and a lengthy piece in Tuesday’s Washington Post by sports media columnist Ben Strauss.
The New York Post broke the story last summer that the show would be canceled sometime in early 2025. ESPN informed Reali of the decision in December. And no one is exactly sure, at least not publicly, why the show is being canceled.
When Strauss asked him why the show was being canceled, Reali said, “I don’t really have an answer for that.”
The ratings were solid, the show still had relevance, and, most of all, it was a great platform for diverse personalities and journalists — young and old and in between, as well as men and women from a wide range of races and backgrounds. At its heart, it was journalists — in the field, writing columns, breaking news, doing the interviews from inside the locker rooms — giving their well-informed opinions.
In the end, it might just be that the show simply ran its course.
Reali has been open about being surprised that the show was canceled, and, for a while, firmly believed that he could change the minds of the ESPN executives. He even offered to change the format.
He told Strauss, “You want games? I can do games! You don’t like the mute button? It’s gone. You want me to bring streamers? I can bring streamers!’ I wanted to put our heads together. But the message was just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Reali told Patrick he is a free agent come August. The 46-year-old almost certainly is going to end up in the good spot, maybe even on ESPN somewhere — if ESPN is smart. But it sounds as if his time at ESPN might be over.
That’s too bad. Reali seems like a first-class guy, and clearly a solid sports show host.
And it’s too bad “ATH” is going away. I’ve had a like-dislike relationship with the show since the beginning. I initially liked the odd format and that sportswriters were getting more airtime on TV. There was a time, however, when the show became overwhelmed with scalding hot takes for the sake of hot takes, as well as being slowed down by a barrage of statistics to back up those hot takes.
Eventually, and mainly because of Reali, the show settled into smart daily discussions about sports. The debates could be serious, smart, funny or silly depending on the topic. And, again, the strength aside from Reali came from the show’s diversity.
A run of 23 years is better than most shows, but it will be missed.
What’s next?
What is ESPN going to do with that 5 p.m. slot? One idea is expanding “Pardon the Interruption” from a half-hour to an hour.
But Strauss wrote, “For now, it will plug in a ‘SportsCenter.’ According to people familiar with the plans, the network approached Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon about doing an hour of ‘Pardon the Interruption.’ But the offer didn’t include much of a raise, which played a role in no deal getting done. The hour of PTI is mostly off the table now, but that show remains important to the network and executives intend to keep it running after Kornheiser and Wilbon retire.”
There has been some talk that Peter Schrager, who just joined ESPN from the NFL Network, could see some kind of role in that 5 p.m. slot.
One more ESPN note
ESPN aired its final “SportsCenter LA” Monday night. The Los Angeles-based “SportsCenter” had been on for 15 years.
The final sendoff was a montage of celebrity moments on the sportscast and it also included a final goodbye from anchors Linda Cohn, Stan Verrett and Neil Everett, the anchor who was with ESPN for 23 years before leaving in 2023.
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