Elon Musk’s significance to President Donald Trump was on full display during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, according to The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman.
Unelected billionaire Musk appeared to hold more influence in Trump’s eyes than many confirmed officials in the room, Haberman told CNN’s Anderson Cooper after he’d asked for her “biggest takeaway” from the get-together.
Trump notably turned to Musk first, Haberman pointed out.
But that could have been, in part, she said, an attempt by Trump to deflect difficult questions over Musk’s widely criticized and confusing messages to federal workers about justifying their roles or facing termination.
“It’s actually something that Trump is pretty deft at, trying to push blame for a problem over on someone else,” said Haberman. “This was something Musk created, but it was also something Trump clearly endorsed and did again there.”
Trump has tasked Musk, the world’s richest man, with slashing jobs via the nonofficial Department of Government Efficiency.
Both Trump and Musk took a dismissive tone toward the federal workforce during the meeting, said Haberman.
She asked if this approach would benefit Trump in the long run, though she suggested it might not matter for Musk. “I don’t think Musk is necessarily going to be there all four years,” she said. “But Trump wants to be.”
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