Also to suggest that this is all from the genius of Musk, Trump and co. alone is a stretch. Years of Republican propaganda, lies, gerrymandering, erosion of ethics and laws, democrats sitting idly by, as well as building up an army of news organizations and influencers did contribute a lot to their rise to power. There are definitely some cunning people on the Republican side, and populists like Trump now profit from the environment they created.