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Common Cause, a self-described nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding core American democratic values, had planned to run an advertisement inquiring, “Who’s running this country: Donald Trump or Elon Musk?”
According to reports, Common Cause intended for the ad to be displayed as a wraparound on some of the Post’s Tuesday editions this week. However, the group learned on Friday that the ad would not run as planned. Expressing their frustration, Common Cause took to the social media platform X, sharing an image of the proposed ad depicting an oversized Musk laughing over the White House. The accompanying message read, “Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post didn’t want you to see our ad questioning who’s in charge of this White House. We won’t stop holding power accountable.”
Jeff Bezos' Washington Post backs out of running $115,000 front page advertisement targeting Elon Musk | Melissa Koenig, Daily Mail
The Jeff Bezos' owned Washington Post has reportedly backed out of running a $115,000 front page advertisement targeting DOGE head Elon Musk amid… pic.twitter.com/QcOqFg2qga
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) February 17, 2025
The advertisement targeted Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, a body tasked by Trump to identify financial waste, abuse, and fraud within the bureaucracy, which have been subject to criticism from Democrats. The ad image featured the statement “No One Elected Elon Musk” and included the website address FireMusk.org. In smaller text, it stated, “Since day one, Elon has created chaos and confusion and put our livelihoods at risk. And he is accountable to no one but himself.” The ad concluded with a call to action, urging readers to contact their senators and demand that “Donald Trump fire Elon Musk.”
$50M of condoms is a LOT of condoms 🤷♂️
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 12, 2025
According to reports, Common Cause had signed a $115,000 agreement with the Post to run the ad, which would have covered the front and back pages of the Tuesday paper, as well as a full-page ad with the same theme inside the newspaper. The plan was for these newspapers, including the wraparound ad, to be delivered to subscribers at the Congress, Pentagon, and the White House.
“We submitted the artwork back on Tuesday of last week. I’m assuming it went through a legal department or other kind of review. They said, ‘You can have something inside the paper but you can’t do the wrap.’ We said thanks, no thanks because we had a lot of questions,” explained Virginia Kase Solomón, the President of Common Cause.
It’s worth noting that Common Cause was founded in 1970 by John Gardner, a Republican who served in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Cabinet.
