Trump Is Right: Elon Is Crazy

Democrats should push to nationalize SpaceX and Starlink.

Republicans say that America is in grave danger, so much so that the Trump administration has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify shipping legal American residents to foreign torture gulags. The official Trump position, supported by every Republican Senator and Congressman, is that America is under an “invasion” and engaged in “irregular warfare” with those deported. In the simplest of terms, Republicans assert that America is at war.

Okay, so be it. A state of war triggers vast powers of the state, including those detailed in the Defense Production Act of 1950, that enable the nationalization of key industries. When Democrats next control Congress, they should use the authority of the Defense Production Act to defend America by nationalizing Elon Musk’s Starlink and SpaceX.

The 1950 Act was the third in a series of similar laws first passed upon the US entry into World War I. In its various forms, it has been used to take control of railways and industries key to defense, such as steel production and mining. In 1970, the Defense Production Act was amended to include space activity. It clarified the scope of industries that fall under the Act’s powers. “The term 'defense contractor' means any person who enters into a contract with the United States for the production of material or the performance of services for the national defense."

My fellow Americans, that’s Elon Musk. The United States Space Force – I don’t know if I will ever not feel ridiculous typing those words – has billions of dollars in contracts with SpaceX and Starlink. A sixth-grader would be embarrassed to claim that having these key defense industries in the hands of an unstable man with deep personal issues, including reported heavy drug use, is not a danger to American security.

We’ve already seen Elon Musk inserting himself into the largest war in Europe since the end of World War II. And with disastrous consequences. In September 2022, at what could have been a turning point for Ukrainian victory, Musk denied the Ukrainian government’s request to extend Starlink coverage to Crimea. In an attack on Russian warships in Sevastopol Bay, Elon Musk personally ordered the termination of Starlink service to the sea drones the Ukrainians were using in one of the first of their brilliant asymmetrical strikes.

A Ukrainian officer involved in the attack described what happened: “We were 70 kilometers away from the Admiral Makarov frigate. Everyone was on edge, as we were going to attack it. And then, our communication was cut off. Elon Musk switched off Starlink, which we used to control the vessels." Musk refused direct appeals from the Ukrainians “Fedorov tried to persuade him, but Musk did not listen. Our people also tried to resolve the situation through their channels, but the Americans said that it was a private company, and they couldn't put pressure on it."

This is precisely the reason why Starlink and SpaceX should be nationalized. It is both dangerous and irresponsible to entrust a man with no experience in foreign relations and no experience in national defense to make a key decision that affects American national interests and security. Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, which pretty much cover the waterfront ideologically, have published detailed investigative reports on Musk’s heavy drug use. The Times wrote:

“Mr. Musk’s drug consumption went well beyond occasional use. He told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall, according to a photo of the box and people who have seen it.”

That’s a good plot line in a Dr. Strangelove sequel. It’s utter madness to have that man exert any influence on national security. His last appearance in the Oval Office revealed a man dressed “like the lesbians I used to date in the ‘90s,” as Kara Swisher perfectly described, with only a passing connection to reality, head rolling to the ceiling, his eyes unfocused and glassy. He blamed a punch from one of his many, many children for his black eye. Perhaps that moment did occur when the four-year-old realized that his father had named him “X.”

When Democrats take the House in 2026, it would be a grave mistake if they believed their role was to be “the adult in the room” and operate like a normal American political party in normal times. The “irregular warfare” being waged in America is not by immigrants but by a Republican Party that has morphed into an extremist movement. They must operate, as the Bulwark’s Jonathan Last asserted with his typical searing insight, as a dissident movement. “The Democratic party,” Last wrote, “has more to learn from Alexei Navalny or the protestors in Serbia than it does from Chuck Schumer or strategists obsessing over message-testing crosstabs.”

Call it fighting fire with fire or punching the bully in the face but treating the Republican Party like an organization that is dedicated to America’s best interest is as naïve as accepting an invitation to a cannibal’s banquet. Republicans will eat meek Democrats for lunch.

You don’t win a war by apologizing for aggression. Democrats should let it be known that SpaceX and Starlink are on the post-2026 agenda. Their voters will love it. Finally, a chance to stick it to a freak billionaire South African and make America stronger. That’s a win-win.