Anne Applebaum

Try to fix those things and live in the real world as much as you can.

Try to fix those things and live in the real world as much as you can.

Thank you. No, there are no silly questions, you know, only silly answers, I guess.

Thank you. No, there are no silly questions, you know, only silly answers, I guess.

Thank you. No, there are no silly questions, you know, only silly answers, I guess.

I'm okay. I mean, personally, I'm fine.

I'm okay. I mean, personally, I'm fine.

I'm okay. I mean, personally, I'm fine.

So I'm not sure there is an exact parallel that we've seen anywhere else. What Musk has just done, as you've said, is he's a private citizen. They've given him some kind of quasi-government status. He's a government advisor, but he doesn't have a confirmed position. He's not part of any congressionally confirmed office or department. He himself is obviously not confirmed by anybody.

So I'm not sure there is an exact parallel that we've seen anywhere else. What Musk has just done, as you've said, is he's a private citizen. They've given him some kind of quasi-government status. He's a government advisor, but he doesn't have a confirmed position. He's not part of any congressionally confirmed office or department. He himself is obviously not confirmed by anybody.

So I'm not sure there is an exact parallel that we've seen anywhere else. What Musk has just done, as you've said, is he's a private citizen. They've given him some kind of quasi-government status. He's a government advisor, but he doesn't have a confirmed position. He's not part of any congressionally confirmed office or department. He himself is obviously not confirmed by anybody.

And what he seems to have done is taken a group of some apparently even very young engineers into government offices and started demanding and downloading data. Let's put it this way. If, you know, the Chinese government were to be doing this by hacking, this would be considered a major cyber warfare attack.

And what he seems to have done is taken a group of some apparently even very young engineers into government offices and started demanding and downloading data. Let's put it this way. If, you know, the Chinese government were to be doing this by hacking, this would be considered a major cyber warfare attack.

And what he seems to have done is taken a group of some apparently even very young engineers into government offices and started demanding and downloading data. Let's put it this way. If, you know, the Chinese government were to be doing this by hacking, this would be considered a major cyber warfare attack.

There is no precedent for giving that kind of information or that kind of access to a private citizen, even if the president says it's okay. And so we're already in a realm where we're in an extra legal situation. You can talk about Russian oligarchs and their ability to shape policy. In Russia, you had this phenomenon of

There is no precedent for giving that kind of information or that kind of access to a private citizen, even if the president says it's okay. And so we're already in a realm where we're in an extra legal situation. You can talk about Russian oligarchs and their ability to shape policy. In Russia, you had this phenomenon of

There is no precedent for giving that kind of information or that kind of access to a private citizen, even if the president says it's okay. And so we're already in a realm where we're in an extra legal situation. You can talk about Russian oligarchs and their ability to shape policy. In Russia, you had this phenomenon of

wealthy people who were both members of the government and the owners of significant companies. So they were making the government decisions that affected their companies. And that's clearly the case with Musk as well. So he is a very important government contractor. His companies get subsidies. He also does work on behalf of the Pentagon. So clearly he's now able to make policy concerning his own

wealthy people who were both members of the government and the owners of significant companies. So they were making the government decisions that affected their companies. And that's clearly the case with Musk as well. So he is a very important government contractor. His companies get subsidies. He also does work on behalf of the Pentagon. So clearly he's now able to make policy concerning his own

wealthy people who were both members of the government and the owners of significant companies. So they were making the government decisions that affected their companies. And that's clearly the case with Musk as well. So he is a very important government contractor. His companies get subsidies. He also does work on behalf of the Pentagon. So clearly he's now able to make policy concerning his own