A newly resurfaced video from 2011 is making the rounds, reminding Americans of yet another broken promise from the Obama-Biden administration. Back then, President Barack Obama took the stage, railing against wasteful government spending and announcing that then-Vice President Joe Biden would lead a bold initiative to cut unnecessary costs. Sounds familiar? That’s because it echoes exactly what President Donald Trump has been working on with his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Even billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk couldn’t help but notice, remarking that Obama’s words “sound exactly like @DOGE!!”
In the video, Obama made a big show of calling out absurd government projects funded by taxpayer dollars, including a website dedicated to a “folk music ensemble made up of forest rangers” and federally owned buildings sitting completely empty.
“They’re called the Fiddlin’ Foresters,” Obama quipped. “I’ll put their music on my iPod, but I’m not paying for their website—and there are hundreds of similar sites that we should consolidate or just get rid of.”
That wasn’t all. Obama also pointed to a massive, government-owned warehouse in Brooklyn that had been sitting empty for over a decade, costing taxpayers millions. The solution? Appointing Biden to lead a “renewed effort to hunt down misspent tax dollars in every agency and department of this government.”
At the time, Obama confidently assured Americans that “nobody messes with Joe.” The reality? Biden’s supposed crackdown on waste amounted to nothing but empty words, as the wasteful spending never stopped, and the initiative quietly faded away.
Biden’s Empty Promises
Biden also appeared in the video, speaking with far more clarity than he does today. He promised a “relentless focus” on eliminating fraud and mismanagement, stating:
“There’s a new standard by which the government is going to function from this point on. The American people are entitled to transparency… We’re holding ourselves accountable, and we’re deeply committed and focused on making government function better. We’re not just eliminating fraud and waste. We hope to be instilling an entirely new culture that not only our administration, but every succeeding administration will pursue. We’re going to give you the government you expect and deserve.”
If only that had been true.
The Forgotten GAT Board vs. Trump’s DOGE
Obama’s big announcement came with the signing of an executive order titled “Delivering an Efficient, Effective, and Accountable Government,” which established the Government Accountability and Transparency (GAT) Board. It was supposed to be the mechanism for cutting wasteful spending and bringing accountability to government programs.
Instead, the GAT Board was little more than a hollow bureaucracy that quickly fell apart, never producing any meaningful results. Meanwhile, the very same issues Obama and Biden claimed they would fix—reckless spending, bloated government projects, and financial mismanagement—only worsened under their leadership.
Fast forward to today, and President Trump has taken real action to tackle these problems. Unlike the Obama-Biden administration, Trump wasted no time in establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) via executive order on his first day back in office. DOGE has been actively investigating and uncovering wasteful spending, holding agencies accountable, and ensuring taxpayer dollars aren’t funneled into useless pet projects.
Musk Calls Out the Hypocrisy
Elon Musk’s reaction to the resurfaced video was telling. His comment—“Obama sounds exactly like @DOGE!!”—highlights the glaring contrast between the failed promises of the past and the decisive action being taken today.
For years, Washington elites have paid lip service to the idea of cutting waste while allowing government spending to spiral out of control. Meanwhile, Trump’s commitment to efficiency and accountability has already led to tangible reforms, ensuring that taxpayer money is being spent wisely rather than being wasted on useless programs and abandoned buildings.
This resurfaced clip serves as yet another reminder of how empty Democrat promises tend to be. Obama and Biden made a big spectacle about cutting government waste, but in reality, nothing changed. Under Biden’s presidency, government spending exploded to historic levels, and the national debt skyrocketed.
Now, with Trump back in office, America finally has a leader who means business when it comes to accountability. The Department of Government Efficiency is doing the work that Biden and Obama only pretended to care about. And as Musk pointed out, this isn’t just another bureaucratic promise—it’s real action.
So the next time Democrats talk about cutting waste and keeping government spending in check, just remember: We’ve heard it all before. But only one leader has actually followed through.
