A CNN panel meant to discuss extraordinary wealth lurched far off the rails Friday night when one commentator went into full-on slander mode on Elon Musk, who became the world’s first trillionaire this week. He’s been getting attacked from the left for his success because that’s what the left does.
Well, that and fantasize about spending other people’s money, which is exactly what CNN contributor Cari Champion started with.
“If you spent a million dollars every single day, it would take you more than 2700 years to spend a trillion dollars,” Champion said. “What you could effectively do with a trillion dollars is get rid of global poverty. You could end world hunger, you could cure major diseases like malaria, and you could completely transition the global energy sector to renewables. The fact that he has this type of money only tells me that his power will be more prevalent and that I could not — I cannot guarantee someone like this man would use his power for good.”
Then Bakari Sellers took things further. After blaming Elon Musk’s influence for USAID cuts that he claimed killed thousands of women and children, Sellers leveled a charge that sent the panel into a frenzy: “Elon Musk is a white supremacist who believes in things like the —”
Criminal defense attorney Arthur Aidala jumped in. “Oh, boy,” Aidala said.
“I wasn’t even finished a sentence,” Sellers shot back.
Scott Jennings had a warning ready for Sellers. “You may need a lawyer when this is over,” he quipped.
Sellers pressed on. Musk “believes in things like the Great Replacement Theory,” he said.
But Aidala pushed back hard. “Considering we have about 12 defamation cases in my office right now,” he said, “before you start throwing things around like someone’s a white supremacist — I would win that case.”
Hellbound and Down 