Shazam! star Zachary Levi was criticized for imploring billionaire Elon Musk and the (non-department) Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) not to let their fellow Trump supporters "fall through the cracks" during an interview on Fox News.
Musk has garnered criticism for gutting federal agencies via DOGE despite not being an elected official—and a foreign-born, unelected official at that.
In fact, according to a White House record, Musk's job title is listed as "unlisted." When President Donald Trump established DOGE through an executive order, he integrated it into the White House by transforming the U.S. Digital Service into the U.S. DOGE Service. The order specified that an "administrator" would lead DOGE but did not indicate who held the position.
Earlier this month, a White House spokesperson stated that Musk holds the title of an unpaid special government employee, a designation that exempts him from the standard ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations applicable to federal workers. As a result, Trump's order for federal agencies to prepare for “large-scale reductions in force” is in full-swing.
Which means many federal workers—whether they voted for Trump or not—find their positions on the chopping block, and Levi pleaded that there are “people that voted for Donald Trump who are losing their job.”
He said:
“I’m so grateful that the election went the way that it did, and specifically because people like [Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] and [director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard] are now in there, and confirmed, and can do the work."
"DOGE is complicated. There are a lot of people that are very afraid right now because there are truly good, working people that work for the government that are getting lost in the cracks. And we have got to do something about that."
“Please, Elon and all of your team and whatever needs to happen, please don’t let everybody fall through the cracks, as we are doing what is necessary, which is to get in there and cut a cancer out."
"You know, sometimes they go in for cancer surgeries You lose some good healthy tissue along with that. [Doctors] don’t want to do that, but it’s a part of extracting that darkness out of there. And right now, that’s what’s happening.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Musk has stated that his goal is to reduce federal spending by $2 trillion from the $6.75 trillion annual budget recorded in the last fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30. According to DOGE, its initiatives have led to an estimated $55 billion in savings. However, recent reports indicate that the actual savings may be significantly lower.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the DOGE website accounts for only $16.6 billion of the $55 billion it claims to have saved. Additionally, on Tuesday, The New York Times revealed that DOGE had incorrectly cited an $8 billion savings on a federal contract that was actually valued at just $8 million.
This slash-and-burn approach cares little for party affiliation, so in effect, MAGA got exactly what it voted for—which people were quick to remind Levi about.
Levi was criticized by his fans last year after he endorsed Trump at a Reclaim America Tour in Dearborn, Michigan, admitting that it might be "career suicide."
Levi, who previously backed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the election before Kennedy dropped out, said “in a perfect world... perhaps I would have voted for Bobby,” but nonetheless expressed his support for Trump while preparing to interview Kennedy and former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who would later be appointed Trump's director of national intelligence.
The actor acknowledged that "within my industry, as you can probably imagine, Hollywood is a very, very liberal town and this very well could constitute career suicide, so I’m glad I did it with you guys."
He also generated controversy in 2023 after his previous right-leaning comments resurfaced when he sparked backlash for agreeing with an anti-vaxx tweet about the pharmaceutical company Pfizer that referred to the vaccine maker as "a real danger to the world."
Levi said he "hardcore agree[s]" with a tweet from anti-vaxx entrepreneur Lyndon Wood, who asked his followers if they "agree" that Pfizer is a "real danger to the world." Wood has previously come under fire for espousing anti-vaccine and anti-transgender rhetoric.
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