Donald Trump took a swipe at federal workers with a SpongeBob meme following an outcry over Elon Musk's email. Over the weekend, the Tesla CEO demanded federal employees explain what they did at work. As the move sparked outrage online, the president mocked the critics with a Truth Social post on Sunday.
Trump shares SpongeBob meme amid outrage over Elon Musk's email to federal employees
The commander-in-chief's meme shows the popular Nickelodeon character deep in thought, scratching his head while holding a notepad, while his friend, Patrick Star, held a list titled “Got Done Last Week.” The edited contents of the list read, “cried about Trump,” “cried about Elon,” “made it to the office for once,” “read some emails,” and “cried about Trump and Elon some more.”
Trump's meme came after Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had an email sent out by the Office of Personnel Management, asking federal employees to list five accomplishments by 11:59 pm Monday, reported New York Post. The SpaceX founder reposted the meme on his X account and a separate tweet, calling the email, “A very basic pulse check.”
Before the email was sent out, Musk wrote on X, “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” referring to Trump's suggestion to him about being “more aggressive.” “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” he added in the post shared on Saturday.
{{/usCountry}}Before the email was sent out, Musk wrote on X, “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” referring to Trump's suggestion to him about being “more aggressive.” “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” he added in the post shared on Saturday.
{{/usCountry}}Musk's move drew mixed responses, with the American Federation of Government Employees criticising the email in a letter to the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, Charles Ezell, per the outlet. “We believe that employees have no obligation to respond to this unlawful email absent other lawful direction,” wrote AFGE National President Everett Kelley.