"Bull": Republican called out over claim that Elon Musk is too "rich" to have conflicts of interest

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu was slammed on social media Sunday after he argued that billionaire Elon Musk is too rich to have conflicts of interest as a member of President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle. 

“The guy’s worth $450 billion as of today in this month. So I don’t think he’s doing it for the money. He’s doing it for the bigger project and the bigger vision of America. He doesn’t need the dollars, he really doesn’t,” Sununu told CNN Host Dana Bash on Sunday.

“So I like the fact that in a way, he’s so rich, he’s so removed from the potential financial influence of it,” Sununu said.

Musk has been a staunch and vocal Trump supporter in the last year and spent over $250 million to help get the president-elect back into office. Last month, Trump officially brought Musk into the fold and tapped him to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), further solidifying Musk’s lucrative influence in his administration.

Last year, Musk was promised nearly $3 billion across 100 different contracts with 17 federal agencies, The New York Times reported in October. In the last decade, two of Musk’s companies, SpaceX and Tesla, have accounted for at least $15 billion in government contracts.

Critics on social media were quick to point out the absurdity of Sununu’s comments given Musk’s wide-ranging and clear conflicts of interest, namely in government contracts.

“I couldn’t go through life saying things I didn’t believe. Sure, I’d make more money if I did, and I’d get reelected to office if I did, but I’d be miserable. @ChrisSununu has spent the past few years saying stuff about Trump he doesn’t believe, and now he’s doing the same thing with Elon Musk,” former Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., wrote on X. 

Former White House lawyer Richard Painter responded “Is this the new normal? Billionaires are too rich to have conflicts of interest. Bull.”

“Sununu has learned that once you jettison all honor and integrity by digging a hole of relativism you might as well keep digging,” political analyst Jeff Timmer wrote.

Political podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen called Sununu's comments "embarrassing." 

"I can’t tell if @ChrisSununu is a bigger bootlicker or partisan hack," he wrote on X. 

"According to @GovChrisSununu, if you happen to be the world’s wealthiest biological organism, your motives can no longer be questioned—even if you donated $277 million in campaign contributions to Trump and other GOP pols to secure your seat at the table," wrote New Hampshire State Rep. David Meuse.