Musk waves chainsaw on stage, touting cuts to government spending
What's the story
SpaceX founder Elon Musk showed up at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, waving a chainsaw in the air, suggesting openness to auditing the Federal Reserve, and accusing Democrats of "treason."
The tech mogul, who is heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was gifted the chainsaw by Argentinian President Javier Milei.
On stage, he spoke about his political journey from neutrality to supporting Trump and raised concerns about personal security.
Space dispute
Musk accuses Biden administration of abandoning astronauts
Musk also accused the Biden administration of leaving American astronauts stranded at the International Space Station (ISS).
He alleged political motives prevented SpaceX from retrieving them after their Boeing spacecraft was de-orbited.
"We obviously could have brought them back sooner, but they didn't want to do what anyone who supported President Trump wanted," Musk stated.
However, astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who are scheduled for return next month, refuted this claim.
Online feud
Musk's claim contradicted by former ISS commander
Earlier in the day, Musk was engaged in an online spat with former ISS commander Andreas Mogensen over his allegations that the Biden administration purposefully left Williams and Wilmore in space.
Mogensen called Musk's claim false, saying, "What a lie. And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media."
He also clarified that Williams and Wilmore will return with Crew-9 on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.