“An Extremely Clever Ruse” by and for the Rich: Owen Jones on Elon Musk’s Coup

British journalist and activist Owen Jones posted a video commentary today that provides a timely and informed appraisal of the coup that’s currently taking place here in the U.S.

It’s being called an “administrative coup,” a “plutocratic coup,” and a “soft coup.” Regardless of the descriptor, it’s a coup – an illegal and overt attempt to subvert democracy and destroy government so that those orchestrating this subversion and destruction can enrich themselves and those loyal to them.

So if you need to get up to speed on how this is all playing out in the U.S., Jones’ 10-minute commentary is a good place to start.





NEXT:
“To Be a Rib in This Body of Our Country”

Related Off-site Links:
Stating the Obvious: The Replacement of Our Constitutional System of Government With the Whims of an Unelected Private Citizen Is a Coup – Heather Cox Richardson (Letters From an American, February 4, 2025).
Signs of a New Anti-Trump Opposition Amid Elon Musk’s Coup – Joan Walsh (The Nation, February 4, 2025).
Unions Sue to Revoke Musk Cronies’ Access to Critical Payment System – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, February 4, 2025).
Musk Intensifies Government Spending Attack With Push to Cut All Regulations – Robert Tait (The Guardian, February 4, 2025).
It’s a War. Do Democrats Get That? – David Corn (Mother Jones, February 4, 2025).
Elon Musk Has Plunged America Into a Constitutional Crisis. He Must Be Stopped – Will Stancil (Zeteo, February 3, 2025).
“It’s a Coup”: Musk’s DOGE Granted Access to Treasury System That Pays Out Social Security – Olivia Rosane (Common Dreams, February 2, 2025).
Trump and Musk Have All of Washington on Edge – Just Like They Wanted – Philip Elliott (TIME, February 3, 2025).
“Americans Were Sleep-Marched Into Fascism”: Signs of Creeping Authoritarianism We Can’t Miss Again – Chauncey DeVega (Salon, February 3, 2025).
Musk’s DOGE Blitzkrieg Should Infuriate the Nation – Ann Wright (Common Dreams, February 3, 2025).
“Solidarity Is the Antidote to Fascism”: Progressives Organize Treasury Protest Over Musk Takeover – Charles R. Davis (Salon, February 3, 2025).
The Fu*king Nightmare – Robert Reich (RobertReich.com, February 2, 2025).
We Must Create a Broad Anti-Fascist Movement to Fight Back Against Trump 2.0 – C.J. Polychroniou (Common Dreams, February 2, 2025).
Fighting for Justice Doesn’t Have to Be a Big Dramatic Act. It Can Be Small – Rebecca Solnit (The Guardian, February 2, 2025).
Did You Hear About the Friday Coup? – Marisa Kabas (The Handbasket, February 1, 2025).
Call It by Its Name: A Coup – Robert B. Hubbell (Today’s Edition Newsletter, February 1, 2025).
Dictator Donald Thinks He’s Invincible; He’s Not – Ralph Nader (Common Dreams, February 1, 2025).
Top Treasury Official Out as Musk Cronies Demand Access to Payment System That Funnels Trillions in U.S. Funds – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, January 31, 2025).
“DOGE-Affiliated Goons” Accused of Locking Career Civil Servants Out of Key Databases – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, January 31, 2025).
Trump’s First Week: “Designed to Destroy the United States From Within” – Chauncey DeVega (Salon, January 30, 2025).
Trump’s First 7 Days: The Framework for Presidential Dictatorship – Socialist Equality Party (January 27, 2025).
How to Organize Under Authoritarian Creep in a Closing Civil Society – Nadine Bloch (Waging Nonviolence, January 30, 2025).
Trump’s Neofascism Is Here Now. Here Are 10 Things You Can Do to Resist – Robert Reich (The Guardian, January 24, 2025).
Can Nonviolent Struggle Defeat a Dictator? This Database Emphatically Says Yes – George Lakey (Waging Nonviolence, January 8, 2025).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “This Is Essentially Viktor Orbán’s Playbook”
• Timothy Snyder on Resisting the Oligarchs’ “Logic of Destruction”
• Marisa Kabas: “We’re Witnessing a Coup By an Unelected Billionaire Propped Up By a Felonious President”
• Inauguration Day Thoughts
• Democrat Talk on the Eve of Trump’s Return
• Signs of the Times: The 2025 People’s March
• How Empires Are Built and Rebellions Are Born
• Neoliberalism vs Neofascism: Cornel West on the State of U.S. Politics
• Progressive Perspectives on Where Democrats Went Wrong in the 2024 Election
• What the Republican Party Now Stands For
• Venice Williams on How We Get Through the Next Four Years
• Progressive Perspectives on Kamala Harris’ Faltering Presidential Campaign
• Marianne Williamson: “We’re Living in Very Serious Times and We Need to Be Very Serious People”
• Chris Hedges on the End of the American Empire
• History Matters
• Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
• Will We Let Fascism Come to America?

Image 1: Donald Trump and Elon Musk at SpaceX’s launch site in Boca Chica, Texas – November 19, 2024 (Photo: Brandon Bell/AP)
Image 2: Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán in New Jersey – August 2022. (Photo: Source)