Musk Has Money, Trump Has Power, But Power Always Trumps Money
Before I begin discussing the Trump Musk political divorce; the possible reasons for it, and the effect that it will have on the Republican Party, I think it’s important to list some of the great things that Elon Musk has done for the country and the Republican Party. I don’t think he gets enough credit from the media, including conservative media.
In addition to his commitment to fiscal conservatism, which he has demonstrated with DOGE, we also should not forget Musk’s support for the first amendment. Many may have forgotten but four years ago, the left controlled the most important social media platform, Twitter. We conservatives were being silenced. This silence helped get Joe Biden elected. Twitter stopped stories that could have hurt Biden, such as “Hunter’s laptop” and put stories that could help Trump on a sort of silent mode.
So, in an effort to keep free speech, Musk put his money where his mouth is, to borrow an expression. He bought Twitter in 2022, for 44 billion dollars, many felt he overpaid, but as Musk put it at the time it was necessary to keep Twitter open to all views, even conservative views. He described free speech as “the bedrock of a functioning democracy.” and he described Twitter as the “digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated in an effort to stop the woke cancel culture.” For Musk he may have felt that it was his patriotic duty to acquire Twitter.
But try to imagine what the 2024 campaign would have been like if Twitter still throttled conservative views. Would Trump have won? Would Republicans have kept the House and taken the Senate? Probably, but only Musk had the means to buy Twitter and drive out the woke and obscurantist leadership. He did it, and for that we owe him.
Musk also campaigned hard for Trump and Republicans in 2024, contributing nearly 300 million dollars, more than any other billionaire. And beyond money Musk has his own followers who ordinarily don’t vote Republican. Musk became a vocal supporter of Trump, despite knowing that most of his Tesla customers were not MAGA. In addition to what he spent on the campaign, Musk also spent time away from his businesses, costing him money and upsetting about half the country. Trump praised Musk, during his speech before a joint session of Congress earlier this year for such sacrifice saying, “He didn’t need this.”
It is true that after the election Musk was rewarded by a gracious and thankful Trump for all his hard work. Trump made him a special government employee and put him in charge of DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency. And Musk found lots of waste. Trump gave a great deal of deference to Musk; he even invited him on foreign trips and cabinet meetings. But ultimately the relationship fell apart. The reasons for the fallout, in my opinion, are based on three things, ego, policy and personnel. It officially ended last week with the two men making charges and counter charges.
The first issue may have been ego. Both Musk and Trump are Alpha Males. Both are used to being the center of attention. Trump was the elected President, but the media and Democrats kept floating this idea, mostly in jest, that Musk was kind of a Co-President. That may have gone to Musk’s head, that is he may have started to believe it. And Musk’s large ego may have bothered many in the cabinet, especially since Musk was infringing on their territory. I have no doubt that many approached Trump about the possibility of getting rid of him. At the very least Trump felt the need to clip Musk’s wings.
There were also policy differences, such as over the “Big, Beautiful Bill”, which looks like while it may be big, it is not so beautiful. Musk, like all fiscal conservatives, believes that when it comes to government spending, small is beautiful. I understand Musk’s disappointment, but I understand Trump’s position. He needs a bill that keeps his tax cuts in place. And Trump must realize that there is not really a clear conservative majority in either House of Congress. So, there will be a compromise, a lot of compromises. Some downright distasteful. But I also think that Musk is a little naive about how the government works, or should I say doesn’t work. He also may not realize that there will be other opportunities for Republicans to cut spending through the recission process. It’s not just the big, beautiful bill that counts.
But I think the key reason for this breakup is over personnel. Specifically, it is over one position. Musk wanted Jared Isaacman to be appointed as administrator of NASA, and Trump went along, but when the two started their breakup Trump pulled the nomination. This then caused a public spat. It seems that was the straw that broke the camel’s back as they say.
Musk is very interested in space and the space program. It could be said that he is an expert, and his recommendation of Isaacman says a lot. Trump’s excuse for pulling Isaacman was due to the fact that he is a Democratic donor. I assume Trump knew this before he appointed him. It may be ego, that is Trump asserting that he makes all the appointments, and while that is true there is no reason that he couldn’t have accepted Musk’s recommendation in this case. Trump could have given Isaacman a year and then decided whether he wanted to keep him. And while it is true he is a Democrat it is not as if the NASA administrator’s job is ideological. It’s not the same as if Musk asked Trump to appoint Elizabeth Warren as Attorney General.
I don’t wish to take sides, but I can’t help but believe that if Trump kept Isaacman, the split would not have become public.
It is also a shock to the MAGA world. Both men are considered good guys, so who should we side with? In that respect it is like a divorce, families line up, but the friends may feel caught in the middle. From my own perspective, both men share some blame. Musk didn’t seem to know his place and when he sat in the cabinet room, he felt that he was an equal. And I also believe that Trump failed diplomatically to move Musk out respectfully. I think when Trump is done with somebody, he dumps them. The problem is that Musk is not just anybody; he happens to be the richest man in the world, and the Party’s biggest donor.
Where do we go from here? Well, I think Musk may start offering some criticism of Republican members of Congress. However, I don’t think he will start contributing to Democrats, but I also don’t think that he will give Republicans 300 million dollars next campaign cycle.
David Shephard is the author of two books. Elections Have Consequences, A Cautionary Tale.
Norton’s Choice:An Inside Politics Exposé: Shephard, David: 9781892538802: Amazon.com: Books
3 comments
David,
How many Billions are in the bill for border security and the border wall?
Why does President Trump allow the IRS to (still today) issue Employer Identification Numbers and Individual Tax Identification Numbers to “undocumented immigrants” (illegal aliens)?
Where is the Executive Order having Treasury Secretary Bessent change IRS policy and immediately suspend issuing EIN’s & ITID’s to all undocumented/illegal immigrants?
Really contradictory to spending Billions to keep them out.
As it is right now the American Economy is not working to give all Americans the same opportunity.
If Donald Trump, or Glenn Youngkin, or the Republican Party, really want to stop illegal immigration then why do they still allow them to get an employer identification number so they can start their own business, an individual taxpayer identification number, so that if they can’t get a Social Security number, they can legally work. They can get Medicaid, eventually access Social Security, snap benefits (food stamps), and some type of housing, cell phone, and taxpayer funded lawyer to help them stay here? Does that sound like someone who wants to stop illegal immigration?
I think the death of this friendship may be greatly exaggerated. It may even serve the purpose of taking the heat off Musk from the Left.