Does that mean Elon Musk is actually President of the United States?
Musk spent much of a frenzied day or so scuttling a rather run-of-the-mill end-of-the-year spending bill. Almost completely via sharing and posting on the platform he owns, which Trump no longer uses because he’s stuck using his own, with much less traffic.
Musk’s move isn’t hard to understand from one perspective: because that’s the way we’re going to be doing things from now on. I get that.
Also, as I’ve written before, Musk is totally relishing the power he’s able to muster through X, so a lot of whatever he’s doing mischief-wise (as in “can you f-ing believe I’m able to do this”?!) is simply for his personal amusement.
But people are buying into his lies. Deeply. He might be the only individual right now who’s out-Trumped Trump.
Someone very smart commented to me the other day that Elon Musk is very smart. And I agree: he is. But if you look at his X feed, it’s not the feed of a smart person. It’s smug and juvenile and totally uncontrollably masturbatory.
That notwithstanding, it is puzzling that Trump was just plain late in his own Truth Social posts on the bill Musk skewered and ran through. And rather muted and rather meek. It’s not at all evident any of Musk’s action was at Trump’s direction. And it’s not even clear Trump felt that strongly about killing the bill at hand in the first place.
In other words, it at least looks like Musk totally big-footed Trump. And it isn’t the first time. And given Musk’s much huger online reach at the moment , and giddy hunger for–and self-satisfaction with–meddling with all kinds of stuff, it certainly doesn’t look line it’ll be the last.
The big question is can Trump put a stop to it if he wants? It doesn’t count for much now because we’re still playing exhibition games. But after Trump is inaugurated?
For now, Trump has some cover: after all, this is sorta, kinda what he’s tasked Musk to do.
Pointing out waste, yes. It does fit with that. But I’m not so sure about the usurpation of power part.
Or is Musk already bigger than Trump, and there’s nothing, nothing Trump can do about it?
Whether any of my speculating about their interpersonal relationship and who knows what about what the other is doing is true or not, it’s still a narrative worthy of pressing.
Because Trump’s announced administration is mostly made up of very White, very arrogant, very insecure men, none more so than Trump himself. Even if it is for the greater good, Trump absolutely cannot take being upstaged by anyone. Even a little. Remember Trump’s first term where we continuously pointed out that when almost anyone took a photo with Trump where they appeared to be of higher stature than him–literally, I mean allowed themselves to physically stand at a higher level than him–it was a kiss of death.
Also, as I’ve said before, I am absolutely convinced Trump despises Musk as an individual, ever since he started prancing around like a schoolboy on Trump’s rally stages. But I also don’t know this for a fact. Trump could actually be reveling in this: Musk’s the superpowed son he’s never had. Musk’s got a lot more money and a lot more reach and for now at least, a lot more power. Trump, at least momentarily has got to be in awe and thrilled this genius is on his side. (RFK Jr., is a poor man’s version of this dynamic). And Trump knows he owes Musk.
At the same time seems Musk can’t control himself from continuing to demonstrate how he now controls a more powerful weapon than anything Trump’s got.
And he’s using it to blow his loads willy-nilly all over the place (for lack of a better metaphor, because it doesn’t deserve a better metaphor.)
How long will Trump abide?