Joan Baez Pauses John Mulaney’s Talk Show to Slam ‘Incompetent Billionaires’ Running America: ‘Our Democracy Is Going Up in Flames’

Joan Baez shared a stern message about U.S. politics during her Wednesday night appearance on the season premiere of “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney.”

Before telling a story about Martin Luther King Jr., who she said was a “funny person,” Baez paused the show to “set the context” for the current state of American leadership.

“You said I could say anything I want out here,” Baez said to Mulaney. “We’re all here to be silly and have fun, and as long as we recognize the fact that our democracy is going up in flames…we’re being run by a bunch of really incompetent billionaires.”

While she never mentioned them by name, Baez was most likely referring to President Donald Trump and Tesla founder Elon Musk, who has been slashing federally funded programs through his Department of Government Efficiency.

Later in the show, Baez said she once owned one of Musk’s Teslas after a recommendation from her assistant, although she does not look back on the short-lived experience fondly.

“I hated that thing,” Baez said. “But I thought I was supposed to like it. So I drove off in it. Within 45 minutes I had smashed it into an oak tree on my property…I was thinking, ‘That’s a sign.’”

Baez was recently portrayed by Monica Barbaro in James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” Barbaro and co-star Timothée Chalamet, who played Bob Dylan, were both nominated for their performances at the 2025 Academy Awards, although neither walked away with an Oscar.