Re: Elon Musk versus the intelligence community

On 2025-03-17 5:34 PM, Blueshirt wrote:

Your Name wrote:
 

Trump the Chump bought a Tesla car solely to show "support"
for Muskrat's ailing car company, but that car has 37 recall
notices for problems that require fixing before he can even
drive it (not that he ever will of course, it's purely a
publicity stunt).

 He wouldn't be allowed to drive it anyway. It's a rule that
Presidents of the USA (and former Presidents) are not allowed to
drive any motor vehicle on a public road. So for Trump to drive
a car, Tesla or otherwise, it would need to be on a private road
and with Secret Service approval... which makes it even more
obvious why Trump bought the Tesla, it could only be to show
support for Elon Musk.
.
I only learned this from CNN last week when Donald Trump was
doing his PR stunt to help out his mate.
 

It's interesting how times have changed. A couple of years back, I read a book about Harry Truman getting exactly one perq out of being President - aside from the salary and prestige of course - a brand new car from one of the Big Three (I don't recall which one.) I believe it was given to him on leaving office. He used it to take his wife and daughter on a cross-country trip. I think Truman did all of the driving. Mind you, this was the early 1950s and the "rule" you're citing may not have existed yet.
I put the word "rule" in quotes because I suspect that it wasn't hard and fast as rules go. I've found that most rules have exceptions or can be waived temporarily or permanently under the right circumstances.
In any case, I'm assuming this rule was created or at least enforced by the Secret Service. As I understand it, ex-presidents can decline Secret Service protection after they leave office if they like.  Presumably, waiving USSS protection also means waiving any prohibitions on driving.
Of course that bears a certain amount of risk in the event that some disgruntled knob wants to kill an ex-President but what would the point be except perhaps to win some notoriety?
In Trump's case, I expect he'll have no trouble affording all the security he wants after he leaves the White House for good.
--
Rhino