Musk’s email blast on Saturday to 2.3 million federal workers — ordering each to submit by Monday “approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week,” with failure to respond constituting the employee’s resignation — was nothing but an exercise in contempt. And in many agencies, it was promptly countermanded.

Despite the two singing each others' praises in the interview, some users on X have placed bets on when the duo will fall out.

Trimming the fat is one thing, but it’s another to make slapdash cuts to agencies responsible for flight safety, nuclear weapons, and the response to disease outbreaks. Even Trump’s most ardent supporters should be alarmed.