Americans can “see it with Elon Musk and Donald Trump” and “like a jerk boss who doesn’t respect the work someone does,” said Democrat Sen. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democratic Sen.
Smith has been openly calling for Musk and Trump ever since making an incredibly rare decision in February for someone who was elected to one of the nation’s best positions.
“I love serving in the Senate,” the 67-year-old Democrat told the Guardian. “It’s a great honor and a great responsibility, but I didn’t feel like I had to do this either.
Without future elections, Smith has spoken out as many elected Democrats think they probably can’t. After Musk organized an email to federal workers asking them to list five achievements from the previous week, Smith wrote on Twitter/X: “This is the ultimate dick boss move from Musk.
“I’m on the side of the workers, not the billionaires’ disliked boss,” she added.
Musk responded to her and said, “What did you do last week?” Smith replied: “I hate to break it to you, but you’re not my boss. I answer the people of Minnesotans.”
It was Saturday night and Smith had seen the emails going out to all the federal employees, so she felt “very angry” to them. It took advantage of the experience most people who work to make a living had at one point. Their boss was a jerk and he didn’t know or care what they did, and wanted to force your power to justify your presence.
“It touched my nerves, so I started writing that message. And the reaction I got from the whole place shows it touched the nerves of millions of people.”
She said that even if she had to face reelection again, she would probably have called him a penis. She is open and believes that Democrats need to be realistic about the situation in which the US is in, due to her mother.
Smith works at Planned Parenthood and helps to carry out democratic campaigns. After she worked on the campaign for former Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, he gave her a name for his chief of staff and then nominated his running buddy. He slammed Smith for us, the Senate, when former Senator Al Franken said he would resign amid allegations of harassment. Smith won a special election in 2018 and then in regular elections in 2020.
She is not embarrassed by strong language – when the US Supreme Court decision to overturn Law v Wade leaked, she simply said, “This is bullshit,” but that wouldn’t be for all of her Democratic colleagues. Still, she said, politicians “should be more thinking about how they become reality at every moment without worrying about being perfect at every moment.”
Efforts for reality is one of several prescriptions she has for her party at this moment. She also believes that the party needs to protect people, not institutions, and that it needs to be better clarified about the alternative vision they have for the country.
“Are you on the side that fights for these billionaires and Elon Musk, or is you on the side that fights for people? And I believe that if all the politicians are clearer about it, they’ll release them to be more direct and realistic about what they think they have to do,” she said.
Smith still has about two years left to serve in the Senate, where she plans to continue fighting Trump’s agenda and find ways to advance the causes she has championed, including mental health and affordable housing.
Already, Open Senate seats have influenced the Dogpile, and many of the state’s most prominent Democrats say they’re running or considering (not particularly Minnesota governor and former vice presidential candidate Tim Waltz). But that was part of Smith’s reason for ending her political career. She knew there was a deep Democrat bench waiting on the wings, allowing her to maintain her seat and lead their time.
The rarity of voluntary stepping in made anyone think Smith could one day return. She is young by Congressional standards. But Smith said it was incredibly unlikely. “I really doubt that,” she said, adding that if she wanted to take office she would be running again now.
“Part of my identity is being a US Senator. That’s probably a pretty good perspective.”
