U2’s legendary frontman Bono has never been one to hold back — and now he’s taking aim at two of the world’s most controversial power players: Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
In a bold statement, the rock icon slammed DOGE cuts as “pure evil.”
But it didn’t take long for Tesla billionaire Elon Musk to fire back — and his response was anything but diplomatic.
Donald Trump is no stranger to criticism — but recently, it’s two of the music world’s biggest legends leading the charge. Bruce Springsteen, known for his deep-rooted American ideals, has been taking pointed jabs at the former president during his ongoing tour.
From the stage, The Boss lit up the crowd with a blistering rebuke:
“In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. That’s happening now. In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”
Took aim at DOGE
And now, Springsteen’s not alone — U2’s Bono has entered the ring, throwing punches not just at Trump, but directly at Tesla and SpaceX mogul Elon Musk.
During a three-hour appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Bono took aim at the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE, a Trump administration initiative once helmed by Musk.
Musk, who developed a close relationship with Trump during his presidential campaign, served as the head of DOGE — an agency focused on slashing government spending. But earlier this month, he suddenly stepped back, announcing on his platform X (formerly Twitter):
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
But Bono wasn’t impressed. On Rogan’s show, the U2 frontman pointed to research from Boston University, claiming the DOGE cuts could have catastrophic global consequences.
“There’s food rotting in boats, in warehouses – 50,000 tons of it,” he said. “The people who knew the codes, who were responsible for distributing that aid, were fired. That’s not America, is it?”
Musk’s brutal response
According to the study Bono referenced, those spending cuts could lead to over 300,000 deaths worldwide.
Elon Musk didn’t take kindly to the accusations. He fired back on X, branding Bono:
“Such a liar” and an “idiot,”
…and flat-out denying any casualties tied to DOGE:
“Zero people have died” because of the cuts to USAID.
He didn’t stop there. Musk added another jab:
“South Park lampooned Bono as the biggest s*** in the world. They were right.”
Despite the mudslinging, Musk himself has recently voiced frustration with Trump’s latest legislative push: a sweeping budget proposal dubbed the Big, Beautiful Bill. The bill includes major tax cuts and increased military funding, while reducing federal support for health and energy programs.
Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning, Musk admitted:
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
”The whipping boy for everything”
He added pointedly:
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both.”
In an interview with The Washington Post, Musk went even further, claiming DOGE had become an easy target:
“DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything. So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.”
“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized. I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least.”