“He created Starshield, which is the smart thing to do, I think, which is to say Starshield is a military use of Starlink. Let's have the Pentagon or the government be in charge… This is something that should not be a private citizen doing it.”
Squawk Pod · October 2026
Context
Asked what he knows about Starlink and Starshield, Isaacson recounts the early Ukraine war, when Musk restored communications for Ukraine and then limited Starlink's use, causing an outcry. In Isaacson's account, Starshield was Musk's answer: a separate military service run by the government.
Transcript
…of the Department of Justice has definitely happened during the Trump administration. But I also think we've seen this in our politics now, that everything involves investigation. And I fear, just as you said, Joe, that if the Democrats sweep, you're going to see wild investigations. Walter,
got to ask you about Starlink Starshields. Do you know anything more than we already know? And what do you think really happened?
Well, when the Ukraine war first broke out, of course, he was very, he saved Ukraine in the first few days by allowing Starlink to restore communications that had been cut off. And as you know, he then geo-fenced it off so they couldn't go into Crimea. There was an outcry. So he created Starshield, which is the smart thing to do, I think, which is to say Starshield is a military use of Starlink. Let's have the Pentagon or the government be in charge. He feels, as he said, that the regular commercial Starlink was used against the terms of service. But basically, I also think he's gone sour. We talk about him being mercurial. He's gone sour on President Zelensky. So he throttled, he felt that they were violating the terms of service. This is something that should not be a private citizen doing it.
Walter, we have a hard break. I apologize. I want to talk to you so much more about this, but thank you. We'll talk to you soon. Make sure you join us on Monday. Happy Halloween, everybody.
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