Elon Musk’s Paul Pelosi tweet proves he has nothing to do with Twitter | Robert Reich

Jjust three days later Elon Musk bought Twitter, he posted a tweet spreading the unfounded allegation that Paul Pelosi, the husband of the Speaker of the House who was assaulted at the couple’s home on Friday, was drunk and had a fight with a male prostitute.

Police found Paul Pelosi, 82, attacked with a hammer at his home by a man, David DePape, who had come in through the back door and was looking for the speaker.

Musk’s tweet, which was later deleted, came in response to a tweet posted Saturday by Hillary Clinton attacking Republicans for spreading “hate and deranged conspiracy theories” that she said encouraged the man who killed Nancy attacked Pelosi’s husband.

In a reply to Clinton’s post, Musk wrote, “There’s a tiny possibility there’s more to this story than meets the eye,” and then shared a link to an article in a fake newspaper, the Santa Monica Observer, in which the gonzo Allegation surfaced against Paul Pelosi.

Incidentally, this is the same Santa Monica Observer that claimed in 2016 that Clinton had died and a body double had been sent to debate Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

If Musk’s tweet, just days after taking over one of the world’s largest and most influential media machines, doesn’t send bright red warning signals around the world about his judgment and character, I don’t know what will.

Does Musk not know that the world is watching how responsible he is as the new owner of Twitter? The fact that he’s personally posting such crazy, dangerous ramblings within three days of taking over the platform suggests he doesn’t give a damn.

Does he need to be reminded that America and the world are at a historic moment when hateful lies have terrible consequences? The husband of the Speaker of the House was almost murdered for such lies.

That Musk chose this tragedy to demonstrate the sickening extremes that such hateful lies can reach is another indictment of his character and judgment.

We’re a little over a week away from an election in which most Republican candidates for office will support Trump’s big lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him, posing the most direct challenge to American democracy since the Civil War .

But what is Musk’s answer? To foment more disunity with yet another lie while preparing the platform for Trump’s imminent return.

Can anyone seriously believe that Musk will be a responsible steward of one of the most influential media companies in the world?

Absurdly, Musk’s Sunday tweet comes right after his vows An open letter to advertisers that Twitter would not become a free-roaming website that allowed completely unrestricted commenting. “Of course, Twitter can’t become a hellscape where anything can be said without consequences,” he wrote. “Twitter strives to be the most respected advertising platform in the world.”

Garbage. By publishing the lie about Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Musk was only demonstrating his willingness — no, his eagerness — to see Twitter become a hellscape for everyone.

I’ve long had my doubts about Musk’s character and judgment. He has repeatedly proven himself to be impetuous, unreliable, self-serving and crazy.

In March 2020, he tweeted that children were “essentially immune” to Covid. He pushed cryptocurrencies in which he invested. When a college student started a Twitter account to follow his private plane, Musk tried and failed to buy it off before blocking it.

The Securities and Exchange Commission went after Musk after he tweeted that he had funds to take Tesla private, in clear violation of the law.

But his latest foray suggests I may have overestimated him.

No one in decent civil society should have the unchecked power that Elon Musk has amassed.

He has to give up Twitter. If he doesn’t, the rest of us should jump off his stinking ship.