Elon Musk: Donald Trump uses Spongebob meme to mock federal workers after outcry over Musk’s email

Donald Trump’s SpongeBob meme

US President Donald Trump used a meme to mock federal workers outraged by an email from the division of presidency effectivity (DOGE) asking them to listing their accomplishments for the week. The president’s submit got here as Elon Musk defended the controversial directive, which some workers have known as “harassment.”
Taking to Truth Social on Sunday, Trump shared an edited screenshot from the favored Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants. The meme confirmed SpongeBob deep in thought with a notepad, whereas his buddy Patrick Star held an inventory titled “Got Done Last Week.” The entries included “cried about Trump,” “cried about Elon,” “made it to the office for once,” and “read some emails.” The listing ended with “cried about Trump and Elon some more.” These entries have been seemingly geared toward these criticising the email.

Trump’s submit appeared to again Musk, whose division despatched out the controversial email to all federal workers over the weekend. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) required workers to listing 5 accomplishments by Monday at 11.59 pm, a transfer Musk described as a “very basic pulse check.” He added that failure to reply can be “taken as a resignation.”

‘No obligation to reply’
The directive sparked outrage amongst federal workers and unions. The American federation of presidency workers (AFGE), which represents 800,000 workers, strongly opposed the request. In a letter to OPM’s appearing director Charles Ezell, AFGE President Everett Kelley wrote: “We believe that employees have no obligation to respond to this unlawful email absent other lawful direction.”
The National Treasury Employees Union additionally slammed the transfer, calling it “yet another attempt by the administration to scare hardworking civil servants.”
Some federal workers have known as the request a “hostile work environment,” and company leaders on the FBI, division of defence, and state division have reportedly advised employees not to reply. The newly appointed FBI director, Kash Patel, suggested brokers to “pause any responses” whereas the bureau formulates a coordinated reply.
Democratic senator calls Musk a ‘d**k boss’
Democratic senator Tina Smith additionally weighed in, blasting Musk’s directive as “the ultimate d**k boss move.”
“I bet a lot of people have had an experience like this with a bad boss—there’s an email in your inbox on Saturday night saying, ‘Prove to me your worthiness by Monday or else.’ I’m on the side of the workers, not the billionaire a**hole bosses,” Smith wrote on social media.

A federal worker from the Centres for Disease Control mentioned they feared mass firings: “I can only imagine how many people they’ll fire based on the responses/non-responses to this.”
Musk defends ‘trivial task’
The tech billionaire has dismissed the outrage, calling the request “a trivial task.” He claimed DOGE had already obtained “a large number of good responses” and recommended that those that responded correctly ought to be thought-about for promotions.
Supporters of Musk’s directive argue that such accountability is customary within the non-public sector. Nonprofit government Jeffrey Tucker famous that related requests are widespread when new administration takes over. “It is only causing screams and panics because it is government,” he mentioned.
Others questioned why authorities workers ought to be exempt from office accountability. “It’s standard practice to report what you’ve accomplished to your manager,” Ana Mostarac wrote on X. “Why should government sector employees be held to a different standard? If anything, shouldn’t they be held to a higher standard, given the importance of their work?”
“Asking a government employee what they accomplished last week is ‘psychological terrorism,'” mentioned Mostarac in one other X submit.

Several authorities companies have taken steps to block or ignore the email. Some division of justice workers have been advised not to reply till additional clarification.