Trump promises ‘influential positions’ for Musk and Kennedy

The Republican candidate has indicated that RFK Jr. would “take care of health,” while the Tesla CEO would work on cutting government spending

Donald Trump has confirmed that he will give Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “influential” positions in his government if he wins the upcoming presidential election. 

During an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson at a campaign event in Arizona on Thursday, Trump was asked whether Kennedy or Musk would become key figures in his administration, should he be reelected on November 5.

“Yeah, I do. I think so,” the former president responded. He noted, however, that Musk has indicated that he “doesn’t want to become a secretary of something” and instead wants to focus on finding ways to reduce waste in government spending.  

“He thinks he can cut $2 trillion without affecting anybody, and I think he can do it,” Trump said. “He wants to cut costs, he wants to save the country.”  

Despite initially proclaiming political neutrality, Musk officially endorsed Trump earlier this year and has become a major supporter of the former president in his bid to secure a second term in office. Trump has promised the Tesla CEO that he would establish a special “government efficiency” commission, dubbed DOGE, which would be headed by the billionaire if he wins the election.  

Speaking at a Trump campaign event in New York last week, Musk suggested that he could reduce the annual federal budget by “at least $2 trillion,” claiming that American taxpayers’ money was “being wasted.”  

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Regarding Kennedy, Trump told Carlson that he wanted the former Democrat – who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race before dropping out and backing Trump – to “work on health” and “take care” of the US population.  

“He’s right with so much of the things he’s talking about, because you know, we’re not a healthy country,” Trump said.   

Earlier this week, Kennedy himself confirmed that Trump had promised him a role in his administration, noting that while he would not be leading any government agencies, he would likely play a part in choosing who does as a senior adviser of some sort.  

Trump transition team co-chair Howard Lutnic also said on Wednesday that Kennedy would not head the Health and Human Services department if Trump is reelected.  

Trump had previously also applauded Kennedy’s decades of work as an advocate for the health of American families and children, and had indicated that he would establish a “panel of top experts” that would work with him to investigate “what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic health problems and childhood diseases” in the US.