Elon Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, appeared on Fox Business on Monday to criticize those who refer to her son as “wealthy,” calling the term “degrading.” She said she would much rather people describe him as the “genius of the world.”

With her son now serving as president-elect Donald Trump’s so-called “First Buddy” and heading the newly coined Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Maye Musk joined anchor Stuart Varney to express her pride in her 53-year-old son’s achievements.

In addition to discussing Elon’s companies—SpaceX, Tesla, and X (formerly Twitter)—she also shared insights into his relationship with Trump, particularly following the election.

“I’ve seen them together, though only briefly. I live in New York, and they’re often at Mar-a-Lago or attending a SpaceX launch. But they always seem to be enjoying themselves—a lot,” she said. “It’s great to see them both having fun, and [Elon] really respects [Trump] and is excited about the future of America.”

She further claimed that Elon and DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy would find it “very easy” to reduce the size of the federal workforce and cut spending, pointing to Musk’s rapid layoffs after acquiring Twitter in 2022.

Echoing her son’s rhetoric, she harshly criticized the media. “What they call mainstream media—I call it the dishonest Democrat media—will try to tear down the relationship. They’ll hate everything,” she said. “I told Elon that, and he said he expected it, because they were dishonest even before the election.”