President Donald Trump said he will direct Elon Musk, one his most controversial advisers, to search for waste, fraud and abuse in the Education and Defense departments.

Trump said the orders could come within 24 hours of his interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier, which aired a few hours before the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Trump will be the first sitting president to attend the game, which is the biggest in American sports and attracts a huge television audience.

Here are the top takeaways from his interview with Baier.

Trump backs Musk, DOGE despite backlash

Something that Trump and Musk have in common is that they’ve both been largely undeterred by backlash and lawsuits.

That was on display again in Trump’s interview with Baier, who asked about 19 state attorneys general — including Maryland’s Anthony Brown — suing Musk and his team from the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE is a temporary organization approved by Trump, but it is not an official government agency. A federal judge agreed with the attorneys general that there was risk of irreperable harm by allowing Musk and his efficiency team to have access to Americans’ personal Social Security and banking numbers on record at the Treasury Department.

When asked if he agrees with it or if the judge’s order would slow him down, Trump’s answer seemed to be a firm “no” in both cases.

“I disagree with it a hundred percent,” the president said. “I think it’s crazy. We have to solve the efficiency problem. We have to solve the fraud, waste, abuse, all the things that have gone into the government.”

Trump said hundreds of millions of dollars have gone “to places where it shouldn’t be going” and referred to some aid funding as “a big scam.” He said he’d want to redirect some of the funds to new Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Money budgeted and distributed to federal agencies needs to approved by Congress.

“I’ve had a great help with Elon Musk, who’s been terrific,” Trump said.

Democrats have broadly criticized Musk, accusing him of broad overreach, trying to overthrow the government and say he has huge conflicts of interest because he’s a government contractor.

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, is pushing for a class action lawsuit against Musk for a “breach in computer security and the data of all American taxpayers.”

When Baier asked the president if he trusts Musk, Trump said Musk is “not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time into it. He’s so into it.”

Trump said he would soon direct Musk to check on the Education and Defense departments.

“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” Trump said.

When will prices go down?

Trump won the 2024 election because wide swaths of voters trusted him and Republicans to improve the economy.

Baier asked Trump a question Sunday that’s on the minds of many Americans: “When do you think families would be able to feel prices going down, groceries, energy, or are you kind of saying to them, ‘Hang on, inflation may get worse until it gets better?'”

Trump said he thought the U.S. would become rich but that the country isn’t rich right now “because we let all these nations take advantage of us.” He talked a little about his tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which were quickly put on hold as the nations reached an agreement.

The president didn’t answer Baier’s question before he moved on to discuss the big game.

Trump talks about bringing the country together

Just as with sports — and the Super Bowl — Baier asked Trump if he’s thought about trying to bring the country together.

“I’d love to do it,” Trump said. “But I would say this, we have to come together. But to come together, there’s only one thing that’s going to do it, and that’s massive success. Success will bring the country together.”

“But it’s hard, and I say it’s hard,” the president added.

Trump picks a Super Bowl winner

If you thought the president might take a neutral approach on the Super Bowl teams, you’d be wrong. He’s picking the Kansas City Chiefs to win it all.

“I have to go with Kansas City,” Trump said.

Although he said the Philadelphia Eagles are “fantastic” and have “one of the greatest running backs” in Saquon Barkley, Trump said the Chiefs get the edge for the team’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes — and his wife, Brittany Mahomes, whom Trump called “phenomenal.”

“When a quarterback wins as much as he’s won, I have to go with Kansas City,” he said.

Trump said Brittany Mahomes is a fan of his, which seems to stem from her liking one of his Instagram posts before the election.

“She’s a MAGA fan, so I happen to love her,” the president said.

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