Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a version of SpaceX's Starlink that Ukraine has relied on in its war against Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.

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BREAKING WSJ: Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of the military-grade version of Starlink that Ukraine relied on.

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-- Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) 4:30 PM · Oct 20, 2026

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One of the people who spoke with the news outlet claimed that Musk discussed the matter with multiple senior Trump administration officials, including the president himself, prior to imposing the Starlink speed cap.

POSTED BY OCUSER

Fascist conspirators.

1930s movie serials would have had a great time with evil characters like Musk and Trump. I wonder which of them would have been the Red Claw?

Probably not Donald. he would have rebelled at wearing a mask.

#1 | Posted by Zed at 2026-10-21 10:00 AM | Reply

You know Trump was not going to admit fault.

#2 | Posted by fresno500 at 2026-10-21 10:33 AM | Reply

Go directly to Leavenworth.
Do not pass GO.
Do not collect $200.

#3 | Posted by morris at 2026-10-22 12:36 AM | Reply

Why would any country choose Starlink now, knowing that it is a tool for Elon Musk to blackmail them?

I guess he must have done the math, and he's rich enough for that to work.

#4 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-10-22 02:34 AM | Reply

Why would any military leave itself open to an arbitrary decision by a civilian for mission success?

#5 | Posted by fresno500 at 2026-10-22 06:28 AM | Reply

Conservatives want *Russia* to win a war against a western-leaning country. Russia! How the heck did this happen? They now prefer authoritarian dictatorships over democracy.

I was never a fan of Reagan and the Bush's but at least they were on our side.

#6 | Posted by Derek_Wildstar at 2026-10-22 12:34 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 3

Putin won them over with his machismo tour pre-Ukraine invasion.

Once Zelensky hit data centers running generative bots spamming Twitter & Truth he was swiftly punished by diminishing their ability to hit more of them, among other curbs to capabilities.

#7 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-10-22 01:54 PM | Reply

Elon wasn't happy when most of his Twitter user base went quiet.

#8 | Posted by horstngraben at 2026-10-22 02:38 PM | Reply

He needs to leave for Mars on Starship the moment it's ready!

#9 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2026-10-22 10:43 PM | Reply

I strongly suspect one of the darkest secrets of this idiotic Trump administration is that he makes very few decisions...he is as Reagan was during Reagan's second term, being paid to give speeches and let the "grownups" run things from the darkness.
Of course, he is not competent to make major decisions. Though Commander in Chief he knows nothing about the military, or, for that matter, about the lives and needs of those at the bottom third of the economic pyramid who are suffering massively right now.

#10 | Posted by Hughmass at 2026-10-23 07:07 AM | Reply

__________
#6 | Posted by Derek_Wildstar at 2026-10-22 12:34 PM
Conservatives want *Russia* to win a war against a western-leaning country. Russia!

Not "conservatives" - MAGA cult, which are different species. "Conservatives" today, like George Will, who write op-eds for WaPo, WSJ and individual or syndicated blogs, are "never-Trump" Republicans who keep GOP affiliation to vote in primaries, and many who became "independent" for now.

MAGA is getting ever thinner as cultists are starting to feel and see the effects of his idiotic policies, character, corruption and treachery, on display every single day that is becoming difficult to ignore, even what they originally thought was for "the greater good." MAGA cultists are the ones who are still willing to call themselves "Republicans" when reached by the pollsters - that's how he can get support of 90+% of 'Republicans' by some pollsters - typical polls (adjusted for 'party balance') measure the segment's intensity of opinion, not the overall quantity of support.


How the heck did this happen? They now prefer authoritarian dictatorships over democracy.

Look who they worship - Trump is MAGA, as he himself said. So whatever/whomever they think Trump "likes" or kowtows to - that day - they like. And if he doesn't "like" that/them another day - they don't like and they "never" liked that/them. It's the nature of the cult.

So they think that Trump "likes" Putin and wants to "re-integrate" Russia back into the G8/G20 world of political and economic markets as a member in good standing (that was Putin's idea) and he couldn't care less if Ukraine disappeared from the map (that's also Putin's idea).


#10 | Posted by Hughmass at 2026-10-23 07:07 AM
I strongly suspect one of the darkest secrets of this idiotic Trump administration is that he makes very few decisions...

Exactly the opposite, he actually does make most of the decisions, and the people he hired in his second go-round are not nearly as competent, accomplished in their fields and independent as his first admin - these are losers and bootlickers, mostly from the media world or nepo babies, who wouldn't be anywhere near their positions in any other administration, and they are there to do whatever he wants (which is "fight, fight, fight" or suggesting "deals" he can make).

Unfortunately (for all of us), Trump has proven to have an inimitable talent of not just coming up with idiotic ideas/decisions, but also unique ability of executing them in the most idiotic way possible.


...he is as Reagan was during Reagan's second term, being paid to give speeches and let the "grownups" run things from the darkness.

Not even close, Reagan didn't make any paid speeches during his presidency (his $1M speech in Japan was almost a year after he was out of the office), and he was in charge and making his own decisions until Bush's 1988 campaign was in full speed, e.g., he several times dismissed concerns of his writers and changed a good portion of the 1987 speech at the Brandenburg Gate, including adding famous "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

helpdementia.com - Reagan's Alzheimer's Timeline
|------- ... Reagan showed no signs of dementia while serving as president (he left office in 1989 and wasn't diagnosed until five years later. -------|

The problem with Trump is not that he is losing memory, it's his low character and diminished mental capacity ("personality disorder") throughout his entire personal, business and political lives.
__________

#11 | Posted by CutiePie at 2026-10-24 08:34 PM | Reply

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