Critics are stunned when Trump's careless language turns into an apparent confession that Elon Musk and his DOGE goons are operating on shaky legal ground

Musk and Trump in the Oval Office (Getty)

Donald Trump's mouth has gotten him in trouble again, this time due to careless language that suggested Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are operating on shaky legal footing. Trump's words -- in the form of a standard word salad that passes for normal language in the president's world -- caught the ears of those who pay attention to what comes out of his mouth. Matthew Chapman, of Raw Story, explains under the headline ''Disgrace': Critics outraged by apparent confession at Trump's latest press conference":

President Donald Trump was finally confronted, at a joint press conference with the Japanese prime minister, about tech billionaire Elon Musk's rapid infiltration of government IT systems — in particular, access to the system that handles almost all payments for the Treasury Department and gives Musk and his engineering team theoretical access to huge troves of Americans' Social Security numbers and private financial information. 

When a reporter asked Trump whether Musk and his "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) task force really needed that kind of access to Americans' sensitive data, the president replied, "Well, it doesn't, but they get it easily. I mean, we don't have very good security in this country and they get it very easily."

Commenters on social media were shocked by Trump's words — with many pointing out that this was essentially a confession that Musk's scheme isn't on strictly legal footing.

When news outlets, such as The Hill and Yahoo! News,  report that Trump and Musk "are violating the law right and left, that catches attention. But to hear it from Trump's own mouth, it creates a WTH moment. What kind of reaction did Trump's words draw? Chapman describes it:

"JFC," wrote social media influencer Art Candee.

"Oh, very reassuring…" wrote Republicans Against Trump.

"Trashing our security and the fbi on the national stage is a gift to enemies and a disgrace," wrote author and TV personality Lea Black. "The press should call him out."

"Cc: Every attorney in the country filing suit against DOGE," wrote Center for International Policy adviser and former Senate staffer Dylan Williams.

"'They get it very easily' because Trump gave them unfettered access 'at his insistence,' wrote technology attorney and New York University professor Michael Kasdan. "I hope this is used in Court against them all."

The original exchange can be viewed at this link.