I don’t want to be pedantic, but okay I will. Musk wasn’t on any ballot. Not a single person voted for an individual named Elon Musk. It wasn’t an option. Enough people voted for Trump and Vance for them to win, but they were the only two on the ballot. It may seem like a distinction without a difference, because Musk functionally has an insane amount of power and influence, but that power was delegated to him by the person that people actually voted for, which is how our government works. People might have voted for Trump hoping he would use Musk in this way, but they still only voted for Trump.
I feel silly writing all that out, but these kinds of distinctions matter imo.
When people vote they are (hopefully) not voting just for the names in the ballot, but in the political program and plans that those names presented. Otherwise no elected politician would have political legitimacy to do anything more effective than waving to the camera on TV.
The Donald Trump that people voted for is the same Donald Trump that openly said he was going to take dictatorial measures and would put Musk in charge of dismantling the government. After this no one has the right to say they didn’t know what they were voting for
I was responding to the comment above (and lots of other chatter like this), which said “people voted for Musk” which is just not true. And like you said, the people don’t vote for the cabinet, they vote for the person who nominates cabinet members. It’s useful to point out because these distinctions have real-world consequences. Musk is a what’s called a “Special Government Employee,” which is an unelected position.
I think the point is that people didn’t directly vote for Musk but they voted for the policies that enable him. So they voted for him indirectly, by voting for Trump and Vance.
I don’t want to be pedantic, but okay I will. Musk wasn’t on any ballot. Not a single person voted for an individual named Elon Musk. It wasn’t an option. Enough people voted for Trump and Vance for them to win, but they were the only two on the ballot. It may seem like a distinction without a difference, because Musk functionally has an insane amount of power and influence, but that power was delegated to him by the person that people actually voted for, which is how our government works. People might have voted for Trump hoping he would use Musk in this way, but they still only voted for Trump.
I feel silly writing all that out, but these kinds of distinctions matter imo.
When people vote they are (hopefully) not voting just for the names in the ballot, but in the political program and plans that those names presented. Otherwise no elected politician would have political legitimacy to do anything more effective than waving to the camera on TV.
The Donald Trump that people voted for is the same Donald Trump that openly said he was going to take dictatorial measures and would put Musk in charge of dismantling the government. After this no one has the right to say they didn’t know what they were voting for
Nobody votes for cabinet members. Why is it useful to say so?
I was responding to the comment above (and lots of other chatter like this), which said “people voted for Musk” which is just not true. And like you said, the people don’t vote for the cabinet, they vote for the person who nominates cabinet members. It’s useful to point out because these distinctions have real-world consequences. Musk is a what’s called a “Special Government Employee,” which is an unelected position.
I think the point is that people didn’t directly vote for Musk but they voted for the policies that enable him. So they voted for him indirectly, by voting for Trump and Vance.