First Draft: Did Elon Musk 'Sentence' 4 Million Kids 'to Death,' and Will He Sue You If You Say 'Yes'?
The richest man in the world gets mad and threatens to sue Rep. Ro Khanna for calling him out over DOGE cuts to USAID, while GOP Senator Susan Collins has some (inaccurate) thoughts about Roe v. Wade.
On this day in 1992, mafia boss John Gotti was given a life sentence on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder. Among New Yorkers nonetheless enamored of the “Teflon Don,” property developer Donald J. Trump admired, and later mimicked, Gotti’s pugnacious attitude in court.
Good morning, friends. Prem here. Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday wherever you are, a Happy Pride, and a Happy World Cup. I love the extended World Cup. I love that the World Cup is playing almost anywhere you go. I LOVE the World Cup. Who are you cheering for?
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ a man who just became a trillionaire is losing his mind on his own social media platform after being called out for possibly helping leave hundreds of thousands of people, many of them helpless children, to die. Plus, Susan Collins has thoughts about her role in removing abortion rights, about Graham Platner, and about U.S. support for Israel – all of them ridiculous. Let’s get to it.
Ruh-Ro
Ten-year-old Peter Donde was suffering from H.I.V., contracted from his mother during childbirth. With the help of a U.S.-led aid program called PEPFAR, he was able to stay healthy.
Last February, the South Sudanese child died.
Elon Musk – who just became the world’s first trillionaire – is insisting he had nothing to do with it.
“There is not even a single dead child!” he says. “If there were, it would be worldwide headline news!”
In fact, several headlines, worldwide, have told us horror stories just like Donde’s. He is one of hundreds of thousands of people, including awful numbers of children, who have died since the Trump-Vance administration callously dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. government’s international humanitarian and development agency, which administered programs like PEPFAR. The brutal cuts were led by Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which, while tasked with cutting waste and making government more efficient, did not actually accomplish much of that at all.
On top of DOGE’s apparent failure to achieve its mandate was the active harm it caused, seen in the deaths of so many children like Donde, and with so many more destined to meet a similar fate if the Trump brutality continues. That widely reported reality was one Rep. Ro Khanna pointed out on Saturday, during an interview on the ‘I’ve Had It’ podcast.
On this day in 1992, mafia boss John Gotti was given a life sentence on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder. Among New Yorkers nonetheless enamored of the “Teflon Don,” property developer Donald J. Trump admired, and later mimicked, Gotti’s pugnacious attitude in court.
Good morning, friends. Prem here. Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday wherever you are, a Happy Pride, and a Happy World Cup. I love the extended World Cup. I love that the World Cup is playing almost anywhere you go. I LOVE the World Cup. Who are you cheering for?
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ a man who just became a trillionaire is losing his mind on his own social media platform after being called out for possibly helping leave hundreds of thousands of people, many of them helpless children, to die. Plus, Susan Collins has thoughts about her role in removing abortion rights, about Graham Platner, and about U.S. support for Israel – all of them ridiculous. Let’s get to it.
Ruh-Ro
Ten-year-old Peter Donde was suffering from H.I.V., contracted from his mother during childbirth. With the help of a U.S.-led aid program called PEPFAR, he was able to stay healthy.
Last February, the South Sudanese child died.
Elon Musk – who just became the world’s first trillionaire – is insisting he had nothing to do with it.
“There is not even a single dead child!” he says. “If there were, it would be worldwide headline news!”
In fact, several headlines, worldwide, have told us horror stories just like Donde’s. He is one of hundreds of thousands of people, including awful numbers of children, who have died since the Trump-Vance administration callously dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. government’s international humanitarian and development agency, which administered programs like PEPFAR. The brutal cuts were led by Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which, while tasked with cutting waste and making government more efficient, did not actually accomplish much of that at all.
On top of DOGE’s apparent failure to achieve its mandate was the active harm it caused, seen in the deaths of so many children like Donde, and with so many more destined to meet a similar fate if the Trump brutality continues. That widely reported reality was one Rep. Ro Khanna pointed out on Saturday, during an interview on the ‘I’ve Had It’ podcast.
“There needs to be accountability for Elon Musk,” Khanna said. “You know, they’re celebrating that he created 4,400 millionaires [with the SpaceX IPO that made him a trillionaire], but they don’t talk about the 4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID. He needs to answer for that. He needs to be subpoenaed. He needs to face investigation. He needs to answer for what he did with DOGE. It’s not just, ‘Let’s move on.’”
On Sunday, Khanna tweeted out research from UCLA that found cuts to USAID could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, including more than 4.5 million children under the age of five.
Musk shot back, saying: “Time to sue this liar.”
It’s a serious threat. Just last week, the world’s richest, most thin-skinned man took legal action against a German broadcaster, forcing it to retract its claim that he helped incite anti-migrant violence in Belfast, Northern Ireland. And Musk’s ire was first trained on Khanna this week due to another moment in the interview on ‘I’ve Had It’, when Khanna said that if Musk were taxed once at 5%, the U.S. could have universal childcare.
“He’s such an evil liar,” Musk responded.
Khanna replied: “Elon, how about just paying the 5% instead of hurling random insults?” He cited the UCLA study again, showing Musk the research about the possible deaths of millions of children.
Musk stayed furious, boosting several tweets attacking Khanna and suggesting the California congressman was trying to incite violence against him.
In one tweet, Musk boosted a tweet calling Khanna “the most active insider trader in Congress.” “‘Robber’ Khanna!” he added. In another, Musk said: “Liars and stock insider traders like Ro the Robber should be in prison!!”
In contrast to Khanna citing research to suggest Musk and DOGE may have culpability for the results of cuts to USAID, Musk cited no evidence for his own potentially defamatory claim that the Democratic congressman is an “insider trader” or “robber.”
Such petulance, remember, came from a man who wielded a chainsaw at CPAC and treated his whole ghastly DOGE project as some sort of hilarious caper, laughing and preening while ignoring laws duly passed, congressional spending mandates, and simple human decency, all so he could gigglingly feed thousands of lives into a whirring wood chipper.
Remember? At nearly 2am on Feb. 3, 2025, Musk tweeted: “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone to some great parties. Did that instead.”
America’s very own oligarch claims to be a free speech champion, an “absolutist” even, and yet is now threatening to sue a fellow public figure for criticizing him – a contradiction not lost on Khanna, who, after weathering personal attacks and threats, challenged Musk to debate.
“Today, Elon Musk threatened to sue me, and he called on the Justice Department to put me in prison. That’s right: the world’s richest person has spent all day tweeting, going after me,” Khanna said in a video Monday. “Why? Because I cited an academic study that his DOGE cuts may lead to the deaths of millions of children overseas.
“You know, Elon, I thought you were a free speech guy. Why not debate me on these issues, instead of threatening lawfare?”
Khanna expounded in another appearance with Jennifer Welch of ‘I’ve Had It,’ saying: “I actually believe in debate. And I thought that was the whole MAGA ethos: we’re tough, we’re going to debate, we’re not just going to hide behind lawfare.”
Despite his flurry of tweets, Musk did not immediately respond to Khanna’s invitation.
But he has already helped Khanna’s (expected) 2028 presidential campaign with his online meltdown over the past 24 hours and his threat of legal action. After all, few Dems have publicly taken the fight to Musk in this way. Khanna shared with Zeteo a message to his fellow Democrats.
“For all the talk of standing up to the Trump administration, I am the only one who has actually landed a major blow with the Epstein files on Trump and taken on the first trillionaire by calling for a 5% tax and calling out the DOGE cuts,” he said. “Our base wants fighters who will take on extreme wealth and power and stand up for the working class.”
🇮🇷 Iran War Updates
Nukes move: In Bürgenstock, Switzerland, Vice President JD Vance said Iran had agreed to let International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country. The Iranians, however, said they had made “no new commitments.”
Sanctions up: The Trump administration temporarily lifted oil sanctions, like nuclear inspections, an element of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, negotiated by Barack Obama, that Trump tore up in 2018 and has angrily repudiated since.
Talks trips: The U.S. said Secretary of State Marco Rubio would visit the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain this week. Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian speaker, went to Oman for talks about how to run the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil down: With traffic moving through the Strait, if at uneven rates, U.S. oil prices dropped more than 2%.
Lebanon latest: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted “major progress” in ending fighting between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, a key demand to end the wider war. As of Monday evening, a ceasefire appeared to be holding, though two were killed by Israeli gunfire on Tuesday. Since March 2, Israel has killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, mostly in the south.
‘Lying Through Her Teeth’
Facing Fox softballs, Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins still managed to be characteristically cack-handed when defending her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, one of the Supreme Court right-wingers who removed the right to abortion.
“I disagreed with the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision overturning Roe v. Wade,” Collins said, “but the fact is that whether Justice Kavanaugh were confirmed or not, Roe v. Wade would have been overturned [6-3] and also I supported Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and… Justice [Ketanji] Brown Jackson, who voted to sustain Roe v. Wade.”
Small problem: The court struck down Roe 5-4, Chief Justice John Roberts joining the liberals on that question. (Roberts attempted a compromise position, voting to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban while keeping Roe.) Kavanaugh’s vote was decisive in overturning Roe, which means Collins’s vote in his knife-edge Senate confirmation was decisive too. And voters like abortion rights.
Fresh from being endorsed by Planned Parenthood, Graham Platner’s campaign posted: “Susan Collins is lying through her teeth.”
“Either Senator Collins is lying, or she doesn’t remember one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions of modern history,” the candidate said in a video.
Despite scandals, including allegations from a former girlfriend who co-founded Ladies for Kavanaugh, Platner still leads Collins in the polls. Eager to help, therefore, Fox host Martha MacCallum chose not to dwell on the fact that Collins, who claims not to like Platner’s alleged treatment of women or alleged mockery of a fellow veteran, votes 94% of the time with a president who was found liable for sexual abuse and first came to office after taunting John McCain’s imprisonment.
Dodging a vaguely tricky question about her famous promise to serve two terms, a mere three six-year terms ago now, Collins lamented “rising antisemitism in our country that Graham Platner certainly is part of and has been… a consistent theme throughout his entire life.”
As proof, Collins said Platner “accuses Israel of committing genocide.” Which it does. Platner, she said, “praises Hamas for its tactics in killing Israeli soldiers,” a reference to a 2014 Reddit comment about military tactics. Collins also said: “It’s important to recognize that AIPAC is made up of Americans who care deeply about our relationship with Israel. Platner makes it sound like this is some sort of evil foreign influence, and that is absolutely wrong.”
Alas for Collins, she of “I am pro-Israel” infamy, voters increasingly do not agree.
🗞️ What You Need to Know
Mall balls: Trump ranted on about his $16.5 million fiasco at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, home to peeling blue paint and rampant green algae, as well as the appearance of an “86 47” anti-Trump meme on the grass of the National Mall. Trump claims vandalism. Five people were reportedly arrested. Trump said he was preparing to sue ABC for its reporting on the pool story.
Court press: With the Supreme Court due to hand down rulings on Tuesday, experts told the Washington Post they expected Trump to lose on scrapping birthright citizenship and removing a Federal Reserve governor, but succeed in his bid to be allowed to fire heads of independent government agencies.
Fed giant dies: Alan Greenspan, who led the Fed for more than 18 years, died aged 100. The New York Times called him “a polarizing force in shaping market-friendly policies.” Considering his impact in areas such as home ownership among underserved minorities, historian Rick Perlstein said: “May [he] forever rot in the sub-, sub-, subprime depths of hell.”
Texas scold ’em: Republican Senator John Cornyn, beaten by Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton, told Semafor he was “very worried about the midterms,” would not help his conqueror, and was now “free to disagree” with the president.
Last Walz: A federal judge blocked a Trump DOJ attempt to subpoena Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in an immigration investigation, calling it “blatantly unlawful.” Another judge blocked a Trump attempt to purge non-citizens from voter rolls.
Lobby hires: Sinister tech giant Palantir is scooping up Democrats, Sludge reported, employing former Alaska Senator Mark Begich and a former chief of staff to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
🧠 Pop Quiz!
In 1990, running for the Texas Supreme Court, John Cornyn falsely represented himself as a graduate of which ancient university?
Keep your eyes out for the answer below!
🌏 Anywhere But America
🇵🇸 Don’t forget Gaza: An 18-year-old girl on her way to take her high school exams was killed and others were wounded by an Israeli airstrike in the Rimal neighborhood, Palestinian news agency Wafa said. More than 73,000 people have been killed by Israel in Gaza since October 2023.
🇵🇸 West Bank killings: Israeli troops shot dead two teens near Karmei Tzur, an illegal Israeli settlement, Palestinian officials said.
🇬🇧 Next please: After Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned and announced a timetable for his departure, former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, the “King of the North,” arrived in London, set to become Britain’s seventh leader since 2016.
🇨🇺🇲🇽 Havana help: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country would soon restart oil shipments to Cuba, as the island suffers under a U.S. embargo, facing challenges including severe power outages, water shortages, and spoiled food.
🇨🇩 Ebola update: The death toll in DR Congo rose to 254 from 1,003 cases, officials said. At least 365 people were reported to be in hospitals or in isolation.
😳 WTF?!
In the Oval Office, showing respect entirely out of whack with the subject, CBS correspondent Ed O’Keefe patiently asked Donald Trump about his claim that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, on which he has spent $16.5 million, is peeling and full of algae because it has been “vandalized” by naughty left-wingers. Well, that and because “Barack Hussein Obama.”
And lo, after five minutes of this insanity, Americans were left to ask themselves once again, “Really? We’re still doing this?”
🧠 Trivia answer: Oxford.
ICYMI From Zeteo
Zeteo’s Martin Pengelly contributed to this newsletter.
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