This is Alex Heath, deputy editor of The Verge. I’m guest hosting today’s episode while Nilay is still away for a much-needed vacation. He’ll be back next week. But today, we’re diving into the bromance between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and more specifically, how it’s impacting the changing right-wing political movement here in the United States. 

There’s no better place to get that temperature check than CPAC. Musk showed up there this year for a wild interview — you may have seen clips of him waving around a literal chainsaw. Thankfully, Verge policy Gaby del Valle was on the ground this year, and as you’ll hear her say, she barely slept. But she got a front-row look at how the world of MAGA really feels about Elon, DOGE, and regulating Big Tech. 

Links: 

• I cannot describe how strange Elon Musk’s CPAC appearance was | Verge
• At CPAC, the world’s populists parrot the leader who inspired them | Politico
• Government still threatening to ‘semi-fire’ workers who don’t answer Musk email | Verge
• Saying ‘no’ to Musk | NYT
• What that chainsaw was really about | NYT
• Sequins, merch, chainsaws: Trump’s return to CPAC | NYT
• Bannon calls Musk a ‘parasitic illegal immigrant’ | NYT
• New York got $80 Million for migrants. The White House took it back | NYT
• Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE | AP
• National Park Service layoffs, hiring delays impact visitors | NPR

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright. 

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

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