For all of NewsNation host Chris Cuomo’s centerward shift from the extreme left, he still managed to let his old lefty “Fredo” habits seep through in his disdain of Elon Musk. And the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles kicked him all over the proverbial yard for it.
Cuomo tried to pin Knowles against the walls during the August 3 edition of his show over X owner Elon Musk’s immigration track and subsequent business success. It was most obnoxious at the end, when Cuomo foolishly tried to use Musk’s race and class as the defining narrative for why he was able to succeed where others couldn’t.
“This guy got through an immigration system that if he weren't a rich white guy from South Africa, he may be getting dragged out of his car at a traffic stop and getting his ass beat, with people like you applauding.”
That's weird, coming from a rich white guy with a famous dad. Knowles then wittingly flipped the script on Cuomo and embarrassed him: “Chris, you're saying he's an African American. So I think it contradicts your police-stop narrative, And regardless, he got through under Bill Clinton!”
The verbal jiu-jitsu Knowles unleashed on Cuomo was apparently so brutal that the show immediately cut to a dog commercial while the host fumbled over his response: “Fair, fair.” Ha!
It's been awhile since I've witnessed @ChrisCuomo get wrecked like this. Well done @michaeljknowles pic.twitter.com/kNJc0sGU00
— Joe Vazquez (@JV3MRC) August 4, 2026
Earlier in the segment, Cuomo also had the audacity to accuse Musk of rigging elections, glossing over the mountains of cash other uber-leftist billionaires like George Soros, Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer have poured into either swinging elections leftward or on their own campaigns. “This guy just rigged the elections” for self-enrichment, Cuomo railed, referencing Musk’s state efforts to secure a conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court last year and his current $100 million pro-GOP pledge. Knowles didn’t take the bait and flung the question back at Cuomo:
Chris, how did he rig the elections? I thought we’re not election deniers … I’ve seen spending on par, below Mike Bloomberg’s, below Tom Steyer’s — both Democrat donors. So Elon Musk has donated a lot to elections. That's great but don’t forget — This idea that Elon Musk has made money on politics — Elon Musk got decimated in his businesses because he got involved with DOGE and the campaign. The National Bureau of Economic Research says that Tesla sales were down by 83 percent because he got involved. That’s tens of billions of dollars!
It’s also worth pointing that the current undisputed king of midterm election spending this year is Soros at $102 million spent at least — not Musk. On another note, it’s worth reminding Cuomo that Bloomberg and Steyer collectively spent at least over $1.3 billion to effectively buy the 2020 presidential election for themselves. Steyer would go on to spend another $200 million on his own failed California gubernatorial campaign in 2026. “Rigging elections?” Oh please.
Cuomo also arbitrarily accused Musk of “fraudulently” working his way through the immigration system. What hard evidence did he have for that, given Musk was never charged with an immigration crime? Well, nothing more than the ramblings of Musk detractors amongst his media cohorts cherry-picking experts to make their case like The Washington Post and his former employer CNN. The track for Musk was a bit more involved than Cuomo let on, because if he detailed it specifically, he'd see that Musk’s working career “gray area” while he was juggling multiple visa options was a typical occurrence in the immigration process for high-skilled professionals.
As immigration law firm Alma pointed out in January:
Musk's immigration pathway followed the sequential pattern common among high-skilled professionals, though not without early complications. His journey began with Canadian citizenship obtained through his mother, Maye Musk, who was born in Saskatchewan. This provided a crucial stepping stone, as Canadian passport holders faced fewer barriers to U.S. entry in the 1990s than South African nationals
…
Musk had secured proper work authorization, likely through the H-1B program that allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. The program permits up to six years of work status and provides a pathway to permanent residency with employer sponsorship.
Context sure is a pain in the neck, isn’t it Cuomo? It must be tough trying to still prove to the world that you “can handle things. I’m smart, not like everybody says — like dumb! I’m smart and I want respect!”
