‘President Musk’ and ‘a daily proctology exam’: 5 takeaways from Trump and Elon’s Sean Hannity interview

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk discussed their quest to cut government waste, what they perceived as the left’s strategy to fracture their relationship and more in a sit-down interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that aired Tuesday night.

Here are five key takeaways from the Trump-Musk interview:

‘The people are smart’

Trump touched on Democrats suggesting that Musk is running the White House by calling the billionaire “President Musk,” adding that the moniker doesn’t bother him.

He suggested the tactic was aimed at driving a wedge between him and Musk, but Trump said he sees right through the strategy.

“Actually, Elon called me he said, You know theyre trying to drive us apart? I said, ‘absolutely,” Trump recalled to Hannity.

“They said, ‘we have breaking news. Donald Trump has ceded control of the presidency to Elon Musk. President Musk will be attended a cabinet meeting,” Trump said. “And I say, ‘It’s just so obvious.’ They’re just so bad at it … because if they were good at it I would have never been president.”

Trump said, “The people are smart, they get it.”

“They do, actually,” Musk replied.

Trump Derangement Syndrome

Musk, a former Democrat, had a unique way in explaining “Trump Derangement Syndrome” — a term used by the president’s supporters to describe the left’s criticisms of Trump.

Musk shared an anecdote of being at a party when he mentioned Trump’s name to Democratic supporters.

“It was like they got shot with a dart in the jugular that contained, like, methamphetamine and rabies,” Musk said. “They become completely irrational.”

‘I’m getting a daily proctology exam here’

Musk claimed that he would “recuse” himself from any DOGE or government operations that impact his business interests, adding that his partnership with the president doesn’t include any sweetheart deals.

“I haven’t asked the president for anything, ever,” Musk said.

The billionaire claimed the media scrutiny on DOGE prevents him from engaging in corruption.

“Obviously, I’m getting a daily proctology exam here,” he told Hannity. “You know, it’s not like I’ll be getting away with something in the dead of night.”

The media

Hardly ever does an interview with Trump go by without the president mentioning what he views as unfair media treatment.

In the interview that aired Tuesday night, the president continued his attack on the Fourth Estate, or “the enemy of the people” in his eyes.

“MSNBC, I don’t watch much,” Trump said, “but you have to watch the enemy on occasion.”

He claimed the left-leaning network and others who claim the president is pushing the country toward a constitutional crisis are being disingenuous.

“They couldn’t care less about the constitution,” he said. “CNN, likewise. I see them asking questions with such hatred. You see the bias. AP [Associated Press] is bad, CBS is terrible.”

‘A vast federal bureaucracy’

Musk pushed back against the criticisms of DOGE, including the notion that he has no business being involved in government policy without winning an election.

“I guess we must be going over the target or doing something right. They wouldn’t be complaining so much if we weren’t doing something useful,” he said.

“All we’re trying to do here is restore the will of the people through the president, and what we’re finding is that this unelected bureaucracy — speaking of unelected — there’s a vast federal bureaucracy that is implacably opposed to the president and the cabinet,” the billionaire continued.

“If the will of the president is not implemented and the president is representative of the people, that means the will of the people is not implemented.

“That means we don’t live in a democracy, it means we live in a bureaucracy,” he said.

“And so, what we’re seeing here is the thrashing of the bureaucracy as we’re trying to restore democracy and the will of the people.”