Fox News DOGE interview prompts onlookers to note a conspicuous absence from the team
The Fox News Jesse Watters Primetime special featuring Elon Musk's controversial DOGE team touched off a social media firestorm about who was, and who wasn't included in the roundtable discussion.
"Elon Musk was nice enough to invite us into the Eisenhower Building last night to sit in on his weekly 10 p.m. DOGE meeting," Watters said by way of introduction. "We met the whole crew, even 'Big Balls.'"
The 19-year old who gave himself the unfortunate nickname is Edward Coristine, a first-year student at Northeastern University, with a dubious work history that included getting fired from an internship for allegedly "leaking proprietary company information."
Social media users took aim at Coristine, but also wanted to know why the interview didn't really feature the "whole crew," since Amy Gleason, DOGE's "acting administrator" per the White House, was conspicuously absent.
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Tech journalist Mike Masnick posted, "Fox News' Jesse Watters met with 'the DOGE boys' for their 'nightly meeting,' including... Big Balls. The meeting was led by Elon Musk, who the DOJ has insisted in court does not lead DOGE. I did not see Amy Gleason at the meeting. cc: @annabower.bsky.social"
Bower is the senior editor of Lawfare, who wrote an exposé on Gleason being named "purported administrator" for legal purposes after the Trump administration claimed "that neither DOGE nor its de facto leader, Elon Musk, have real decision-making authority."
BlueSky poster covie93.bsky.social, with more than 53,000 followers, also asked, "Why was Amy Gleason, the person the WH said is in charge of DOGE, not in that fox 'news' interview with the DOGE team???"
The Sunday Mirror's Mikey Smith made fun of Coristine's cleaned-up appearance, writing, "Don’t know what you expected the DOGE kid nicknamed 'Big Balls' to look like, but I wouldn’t have guessed 'family wedding Jedward.'"
Political commentator Family-guy @eswat.bsky.social, with more than 10,000 followers, posted, "I watched an interview, last night, of Elon Mush and all the DOGE area leaders by Fox News. I was sickened by the lies and ridiculous accusations. '40% of the phone calls that come in EVERY DAY are fraudsters trying to steal from the system.'”
Journalist Kim Zetter remarked how "Musk makes sure to praise Trump and his cabinet, with whom he has tangled over DOGE activity."
Over on Elon Musk's X, the commentary was far more complimentary.
MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) called the DOGE crew "patriots" and "heroes," while Michael Reagan, adopted son of Ronald Reagan and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation wrote, "I challenge @Abc @NBC @CBS and @Cnn to put Elon Musk and his Doge team on for a sit down interview as did FOX. Do they have a pair or not??"