Elon Musk points out how Obama's plan in 2011 sounds eerily similar to DOGE

Elon Musk shot back at critics of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as he shared a clip of former President Barack Obama announcing similar government cuts 14 years ago. 

Musk took to his X platform to retweet a clip of Democrat Obama in 2011 announcing the 'Campaign to Cut Waste' initiative to slash unnecessary government spending, saying it 'sounds exactly like DOGE.' 

In the clip, Obama even said he was putting his then-Vice President Joe Biden in charge of the campaign, because 'nobody messes with Joe.' 

He listed several items that the campaign had found early in its inception that were examples of 'pointless waste and stupid spending that doesn't benefit anybody', including maintaining a website for a folk music ensemble group named the 'Fiddlin Foresters.' 

'No amount of waste is acceptable, especially when it’s your money,' Obama said. 'Just as families are living within their means, government should too.'  

Amid criticism of Musk's DOGE for a chainsaw approach to gutting entire agencies and laying off thousands, the billionaire shared the clip in an attempt to draw comparisons with Obama making 'tough decisions.' 

'Everyone knows that getting rid of the deficit will require some tough decisions, and that includes cutting back on billions of dollars in programs that a lot of people care about,' Obama said in the old video. 

While some lauded the comparison, others on X claimed Obama's cost-cutting measures on items like unused federal buildings were not the same as Musk's slash-and-burn approach. 

Obama's clip was shared as he was gearing up for his 2012 re-election bid, with some commenters on Musk's video saying it hadn't made a significant difference to federal spending. 

Podcaster Joe Rogan reacted to the clip that it 'took 14 years and Elon Musk and Donald Trump for the talk to become action.' 

Obama said in his announcement that the moves were intended to 'get rid of the deficit', despite the federal budget deficit rising by 58 percent and over $6.7 trillion over his eight years in the White House. 

He added in the announcement that some items that were being cut, 'should be getting rid of even if we didn't have a deficit.' 

Providing examples of the 'stupid spending', Obama called out the 'Fiddlin Foresters' group website, saying: 'I'll put their music on my iPod, but I'm not paying for their websites.' 

The 44th president went on to highlight several other items that were going to be cut, including 'thousands of buildings across the country that no one uses.' 

After Obama said Biden was being put in charge of the initiative to 'hunt down misspent tax dollars in every agency and department of this government', Biden appeared in the announcement as he pledged to tackle spending with a 'relentless focus.' 

'We’re holding ourselves accountable, and we’re deeply committed and focused on making government function better,' he said. 

While some Trump supporters like Rogan praised the comparison between Obama's 2011 initiative and Musk's DOGE cuts, others argued it was a false equivalency. 

One X user responded: 'Obama wasn't cutting agencies in half or almost in their entirety. He was computerizing processes, getting rid of paperwork/ paper files - nothing like DOGE.' 

'Sorry but Obama wasn't a billionaire with contracts with the government,' another said. 

'He wasn't an entrepreneur from South Africa. And he wasn't firing so many people for purely downsizing. You're not anything like Obama.' 

But Texas Congressman Chip Roy showed his approval, as he shared the clip captioned: 'There's a video/ tweet for everything.' 

The clip's re-emergence comes as DOGE has sharply divided Washington and everyday Americans. 

While Musk and Trump's supporters have praised cuts to trivial yet expensive programs, critics argue that the widespread cuts have also impacted meaningful and legitimate spending. 

After taking the ax to agencies including USAID and the IRS, the DOGE measures this week focused on the US Postal Service. 

On Friday, it was announced that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy signed an agreement for Elon Musk's DOGE to help USPS in 'identifying and achieving further efficiencies.'

'The DOGE team was gracious enough to ask for the big problems they can help us with,' DeJoy wrote in a letter to Congress. 

The latest move comes as Musk insists America is not a true democracy if judges who attempt to block President Donald Trump's cost-cutting agenda are permitted to keep their spot on the bench.

Another federal judge ordered probationary government employees laid off in this year's mass firings be rehired.

And Trump clarified earlier this month that Musk's job at DOGE is to recommend areas where the federal government can slash waste and save taxpayers money.

The president told his Cabinet officials during an impromptu meeting that they would be in charge of implementing these recommendations at their respective departments and agencies to bring them into compliance with his agenda.

As part of its decade-long Deliver for America plan initiated in 2021, USPS is looking to reduce its workforce by 10,000 in the next 30 days after already cutting 30,000 jobs from the start of the program to now.