Last week it was the curse heard round the world. This week, it may be the posts that push Disney\u2019s Bob Iger out of a job.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
When Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X, was being interviewed at the New York Times DealBook Summit on Nov. 29, reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin asked him about companies pulling their ads from his social media site. Disney, Apple, Coca-Cola, Warner Bros Discovery, Comcast and others have suspended their advertising on X after Musk reshared a post which came across to many as antisemitic. <\/p>\n
Instead of responding in a contrite manner, Musk replied:\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cIf somebody\u2019s going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f ? ? ? yourself. Go. F? ? ?. Yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.\u201d Musk then appeared to directly call out Disney CEO Bob Iger by adding, \u201cHey Bob, if you\u2019re in the audience. That\u2019s how I feel.\u201d <\/p>\n
No matter which side of the Musk divide one is on, it is becoming clear that the mega-billionaire entrepreneur is now drawing deeper lines in the sand. To prove that point, Musk tripled down against Iger this week by firing multiple posts criticizing Disney and outright saying Iger \u201cshould be fired immediately.\u201d <\/p>\n
In response to the state of New Mexico suing Meta and Mark Zuckerberg for alleged child abuse content on the site, Musk said, \u201cCrazy that Disney has to be sued to stop this terrible behavior.\u201d Next, in response to a CNBC headline stating, \u201cFacebook and Instagram content enabled child sexual abuse, trafficking: New Mexico lawsuit\u201d Musk responded: \u201cWhy no advertiser boycott, Bob Iger? You are endorsing this material.\u201d Just minutes before that, Musk had posted: \u201cBob Iger thinks it\u2019s cool to advertise next to child exploitation material. Real stand up guy.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Also this week, while doing an interview regarding his new Cybertruck, Musk said with regard to the activism of Disney, \u201cYou have to wonder. What would Walt Disney think of the company that is his namesake today? I think Walt Disney is turning in his grave faster than a drill bit.\u201d <\/p>\n
In case anyone has any doubts, Musk has now openly declared rhetorical war on Iger and Disney. A fight Iger may soon wish he had never initiated. <\/p>\n
While many on the left may now detest Musk for defending himself and his site, tens of millions are embracing this increasingly defiant Musk. They do so because they are convinced Musk represents the lone force in the nation and world standing up to globalists, cancel culture, woke CEOs and the left\u2019s anti-capitalism and anti-freedom dictates. <\/p>\n
To be sure, Iger is a very bright guy and should be smart and open-minded enough not to buy into the smearing of Musk. And yet. <\/p>\n
To that very point, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who was at that Dealbook summit and listened to Iger go after Musk and X, posted:\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cIf Bob Iger would carefully examine the facts, he would likely continue to advertise on X, but Disney caves to public pressure rather than do the right thing. Meanwhile Disney invests heavily on TikTok, likely alongside videos of kids teaching other teenagers to be anorexic and worse.\u201d <\/p>\n
But unfortunately for Iger \u2014 and the Disney stockholders \u2014 Iger may not be strong enough to fend off the bullying woke forces within his own company, which he helped to create and then enable. <\/p>\n
Because of Musk\u2019s celebrated showdown with Iger, consumers by the tens of thousands are loudly declaring that they are on \u201cTeam Musk\u201d and have his back. As has been reported, thousands of Disney+ subscribers have not only cancelled the channel in solidarity but are posting all over X for others to join them. <\/p>\n
Later during the Dealbook interview, Musk added to his reputation as a real-life superhero to millions: \u201cI\u2019m saying what I care about is the reality of goodness, not the perception of it. And what I see all over the place is people who care about looking good while doing evil.\u201d <\/p>\n
Like Alexander the Great, Musk is now burning his boats and leaving himself only one direction: forward into the fight. As he is proving with his increasing attacks on Iger and Disney, Musk will not go quietly into the night. <\/p>\n
Douglas MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant, was a writer in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and former special assistant for policy and communications at the Pentagon during the last three years of the Bush administration. <\/p>\n
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Elon Musk declares war on Disney and Bob Iger - The Hill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last week it was the curse heard round the world. This week, it may be the posts that push Disney\u2019s Bob Iger out of a job.\u00a0 When Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X, was being interviewed at the New York Times DealBook Summit on Nov. 29, reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin asked him about companies pulling their ads from his social media site Continue reading