Musk hits back with data at far-right label

Musk hits back with data at far-right label

Elon Musk does not mince his words. When a reporter accused his policies of being far right, the owner of X responded with a list that left the studio in silence: secure borders, safe cities, sensible spending. "Which of those three sounds 'far right'? None of them!" he snapped, adding: "I want to call out you and every media outlet for this absurd, false, misleading and nonsensical characterization".

The trick of shifting the Overton window

Musk's retort points to a well-known phenomenon: the movement of the Overton window. What was common sense 15 years ago – border control, urban safety, fiscal discipline – is now branded extremism by large sectors. "The funniest trick is to take an Obama or Hillary speech and ask a lunatic leftist what they think of that Trump speech," he quipped. Policies once defended by Democrats or social democrats have thus been incivil.

The Twitter takeover and the media backlash

The 2022 purchase of Twitter and its rebranding as X triggered the accusations. Many analysts argue that the left has reacted by labelling Musk rather than debating his ideas. The Chinese term "baizuo" has been used to describe that Western left that prioritizes identity activism while backing globalist economic policies. Even centre-right parties like Spain's PP have been placed in that category.

Will the counterattack work?

Musk has the attention, but the narrative is deeply entrenched. That three such basic principles are seen as radical says a lot about how far the political spectrum has shifted. The strategy of dismantling labels with facts is risky: it may not be enough to change the perception of those who have already decided Musk is an extremist. Even so, the debate over what "far right" really means has been left open, and in need of data rather than insults.