Geline Salac

US President Donald Trump (L) and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk watch a fight during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 16, 2024. Kena Betancur, AFP/File

Article (news)

US President Donald Trump (L) and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1738972792276TRUMP-MUSK.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">US President Donald Trump (L) and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk watch a fight during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 16, 2024. <em>Kena Betancur, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>WASHINGTON — US tech billionaire Elon Musk said Friday he was reinstating a deputy who quit a job giving him access to the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans after the staffer was linked to a racist social media account.</p><p>Marko Elez, 25, resigned from Musk&#x27;s self-styled Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Thursday when The Wall Street Journal uncovered a welter of offensive posts on the account, including a boast from last July that &quot;I was racist before it was cool.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/1/26/tens-of-thousands-protest-germany-s-far-right-as-musk-backs-afd-0802">Tens of thousands protest Germany&#x27;s far right as Musk backs AfD</a></div><p>Musk — US President Donald Trump&#x27;s close confidante and point man on spending cuts — asked his 216 million X followers if he should reinstate &quot;@DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym.&quot;</p><p>More than three-quarters of the 385,000 respondents voted &quot;yes,&quot; prompting Musk to announce: &quot;He will be brought back. To err is human, to forgive divine.&quot;</p><p>X relaxed its enforcement of offensive rhetoric — reinstating many banned far-right figures —  after it was acquired in 2022 by Musk, whose infamous raised-arm salute during Trump&#x27;s inauguration drew comparisons to a Nazi salute.</p><p>The world&#x27;s richest man has drawn criticism at home and in Europe for his vocal support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and repeatedly insulting the US ally&#x27;s political leaders.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/4/musk-takes-reins-of-us-treasury-payments-sparking-alarm-0852">Musk takes reins of US Treasury payments, sparking alarm</a></div><p>&quot;Normalize Indian hate,&quot; the account associated with Elez posted in September, as Musk was facing a barrage of criticism from the Trumpist far right for his support for hiring skilled foreign workers in the tech sector.</p><p>In another post, it reportedly said it &quot;would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.&quot;</p><p>Elez&#x27;s resignation came after a court ruled that he and another DOGE worker could continue to access the personal information of millions of Americans kept in Treasury payment systems.</p><p>His prospects for redemption quickly improved as Vice President JD Vance — whose wife and children have Indian heritage — wrote a post blaming the media for the disgraced official&#x27;s downfall.</p><p>&quot;Here&#x27;s my view: I obviously disagree with some of Elez&#x27;s posts, but I don&#x27;t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid&#x27;s life,&quot; said Vance.</p><p>&quot;We shouldn&#x27;t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back. If he&#x27;s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/7/judge-pauses-musk-plan-for-mass-cull-of-us-gov-t-workers-1129">Judge pauses Musk plan for mass cull of US gov&#x27;t workers</a></div><p>Trump — who has embarked on an aggressive purge of initiatives to counter discrimination in government — later told reporters in the White House he supported Vance&#x27;s stance.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>The world's richest man has drawn criticism at home and in Europe for his vocal support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and repeatedly insulting the US ally's political leaders.</p>

The world's richest man has drawn criticism at home and in Europe for his vocal support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and repeatedly insulting the US ally's political leaders.

Musk vows to rehire deputy who quit over racist posts

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Musk vows to rehire deputy who quit over racist posts

Agence France-Presse

Published February 08, 2025 08:00 AM PHT

Read More:

Elon Musk

Department of Government Efficiency

Marko Elez

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