Trump praises Elon Musk as ‘patriot, a brilliant guy, and a friend of mine’ amid DOGE exit

Elon Musk may be easing off his role at the Department of Authorities Efficiency DOGE but President Donald Trump isn't easing off his praise On Wednesday Trump praised Musk's smarts and patriotism during an executive order signing in the Oval Office brushing off critics and defending the tech mogul s work on federal improvement He s an incredible brilliant guy Trump commented He was a tremendous help both in the campaign and in what he's done with DOGE DOGE launched in has served as a hallmark of Trump s second-term agenda to cut waste streamline federal agencies and apply private-sector principles to federal operations FOX NEWS POLL THE FIRST DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP S SECOND TERMMusk s informal advisory role in the effort has drawn both attention and criticism In an exchange with a reporter Trump addressed what he described as unfair medication of Musk and Tesla They took it out on Tesla and I just thought it was so unfair because he's trying to help the country but he has helped the country He didn't need to do this He did it he declared Trump's remarks came as tensions have hit an all-time high for Musk's electric carriage company Tesla DAVID MARCUS WHAT AMERICA OWES ELON MUSK AFTER DOGEA Kansas City dealership was in recent weeks firebombed causing over in damage In Europe a Tesla executive canceled a scheduled appearance in Rome over revealed shield threats These incidents have occurred alongside ongoing protests at Tesla s Berlin gigafactory Trump continued his praise referencing Musk s aerospace work with SpaceX When you see those rockets go up and come back and land in the same gantry nobody else can do that but this man So he's just an incredible person and he's a friend of mine as a nice person too as a very nice person He also noted Musk s broad technological contributions He's a great patriot he makes a great product it s a great car It s a great everything Starlink is great What he does is good He s doing medicinal things that are amazing Wrapping up his response Trump mentioned he hoped Musk would continue to be involved even as he turns his attention back to his business empire CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP I reported him whenever you re ready I d like to keep him for a long time A latest Fox News poll shows that while of Americans think DOGE will make the authorities more efficient believe the Trump administration has not been competent and effective in managing federal operations a sentiment unchanged from