Can the White House handle Trump and Musk?
Donald Trump will be sworn in as the new president of the United States next week. In a sense, billionaire Elon Musk will also be holding the Holy Bible that day. This is an unprecedented relationship in modern American history. Trump is going to the White House with the shadow of an advisor who is not only the richest man in the world; he has many similarities with himself (Trump) in many areas, including ambition, hard-right politics, and influence over the media.
Despite all these similarities, will the Oval Office be big enough for these two hugely influential people? What will happen to the mountainous conflict of interest that Trump can get involved in just with Musk? This is the question that has arisen.
The two developed a political dharma-mahram relationship through Musk’s financing of Trump’s campaign in the US presidential election. This relationship is reflected in many things that the two have in common.
The power of this pair in delivering messages is extraordinary. Musk has turned his social media platform, X, into a haven for right-wingers. Conservative media outlets have been sympathetic to Trump and have produced news reports. Both Trump and Musk love to show provocative drama.
Margaret O’Mara, a professor of history at the University of Washington, believes that Musk, like Trump, tries to attract people’s attention through words and actions. He says and does things that some find offensive. He likes to challenge established norms.
According to Peter Loz, director of the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, “Musk has had a significant impact on the president (Trump).”
Describing Elon Musk as rich and bold, Loz added that Musk constantly reminds Trump how great he (Trump) is. And Trump likes these things.
However, Lorenzo Castellani, a professor of history at the Luis Guido Carli University in Rome, warns that the risk of conflict is high if you work for a long time.
Trump has given Musk the task of cutting federal government spending and creating a regulatory plan. The ambitious plans have been popular with right-wing ideologues. Since Musk will play a major government contractor role here, the Trump camp has not explained how to avoid the conflict of interest that arises when making sweeping changes.
Trump will be sworn in as president on January 20. Musk has been seen becoming active before his inauguration.
Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, initially promised to cut federal government spending by $2 trillion, which is impossible. But now he says, “We have a good chance of saving $1 trillion.”
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However, implementing a plan to cut spending to this extent is difficult. To reduce this amount of spending from the government’s overall budget of about $7 trillion, important services or facilities will have to be cut.
Musk has been seen with Trump almost every time since the US presidential election held in November.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk at a Trump campaign rally. October 5, 2024, Pennsylvania, United States
Tesla CEO Elon Musk at a Trump campaign rally. October 5, 2024, Pennsylvania, United States Photo: Reuters
Musk was present at Trump’s meetings with business leaders and foreign representatives. The two are often seen eating together in the picture. They were even seen dancing together at the ‘YMCA’ event on the evening before the Christian New Year.
According to Professor Castellani, Musk’s close relationship with Trump is reminiscent of the influential businessmen known as ‘robber barons’ from the late 19th century to the 20th century. These businessmen included Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie and JP Morgan. They were as powerful economically as they were politically.
Musk, like his predecessors, is using political influence to protect his interests. He has used his social media platform X to galvanize right-wing movements and launch online campaigns in Europe.
Musk has lashed out at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after UK lawmakers imposed new restrictions on social media. He has also called for his resignation.
Musk has repeatedly praised Germany’s far-right AfD party. But X has criticized the European Commission for threatening Brussels with hefty fines. Other businessmen are also flocking to Trump’s circle. Musk’s liberal views, including keeping government small, are echoed in their voices.
But tensions are building among the right-wing over the rise of the US elite. They hoped that Trump would fight globalization and implement his slogan of “Make America Great Again.” But when he came to power,
