Jake Tapper Recaps ‘Extraordinary’ Oval Office Q&A With Trump and ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk — Who ‘Was Not Elected’

CNN’s Jake Tapper referred to billionaire Elon Musk as the “first buddy” of President Donald Trump while recapping a joint presser by the duo that had just wrapped on his show Tuesday.

Trump offered the reins to Musk, who defended his embattled Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and blasted the federal government as a bureaucracy that threatened the will of voters.

CNN carried much of the briefing but pulled away as Tapper explained what many had just seen.

“All right, you’ve been watching President Trump and first buddy Elon Musk at the resolute desk in the Oval Office, defending their aggressive efforts to overhaul the government and root out fraud,” Tapper said. “Musk, who is, of course, the world’s richest person, was not elected, defended his department’s – the department of government excellence’s [sic] – unfettered access into multiple federal agencies.”

Turning to CNN’s Jeff Zeleny, Tapper continued:

Trump the president, also continuing with his suggestion that judges the judicial branch of government should not be standing in the way of his administration’s moves. Let’s bring back CNN’s Jeff Zeleny at the white house.

And, Jeff, this – it’s snowed since I last saw you there – Jeff, this was a rather extraordinary moment, a long conversation at the Oval Office. The president and Elon Musk answering questions from reporters, you know, applause, applause for taking all those questions, even if you don’t like what they’re doing. What did we learn about their working dynamics there, do you think?

Zeleny agreed with Tapper that the presser was “extraordinary.”

He called Musk “the world’s richest and unelected man” and said the Tesla CEO had been “essentially functioning as the fourth branch of government.”

Watch above via CNN.