“When the whole world is running headlong towards the precipice, one who walks in the opposite direction is looked at as being crazy.”
—T.S. Eliot
Let’s begin with the upside of Elon Musk’s now-infamous X post, because it’s not all gloom and doom:
If we really, truly care about cutting pork and reducing wasteful spending, we want at least as many voices on the right as on the left. There’s value to shining a spotlight on our gargantuan debt. Once Musk opened the floodgates of criticism, there was no turning back:
Of course, the Trump administration likely doesn’t see it that way. From the president’s perspective, his “Big Beautiful Bill” squeaked by in the House by a 215 to 214 margin. He needed every last vote (and the deaths of multiple Democratic congressmen) just to get the bill passed!
The kind of bill that Musk prefers (along with many other conservatives, including myself) would fail in Congress. The unfortunate reality is, there aren’t enough conservatives in the House to support meaningful spending cuts. With a razor-thin majority, the votes simply aren’t there.
And President Trump has gotta live and govern in the real world. Sometimes, half a loaf of bread is better than no bread at all.
If Elon Musk is hellbent on blowing up the bill, he could probably pressure enough GOP congressmen. His money and influence are considerable. Killing the legislation is within his means.
So, how does MAGA solve a problem like Musk?
Their first attempt ought to be (discreet) fence-mending, with high-level executives — including the president and vice president — reaching out to Musk away from the cameras. There’s an excellent reason why Musk responded so emotionally: He destroyed Tesla’s reputation with liberals by spearheading DOGE, dedicated his time and energy to cutting spending, lost billions of dollars in the process, and now it looks like it was all for naught.
If I were in Musk’s shoes, I’d be pretty P.O.’d, too.
Hopefully, there’s an opportunity to convince Musk that the Big Beautiful Bill isn’t the icing on top of the cake, but our opening salvo — the best compromise available today — and that taming runaway spending is still a MAGA priority.
We just don’t have the votes right now.
The truth is, neither party has been serious about cutting spending. Dems grow government just a little bit faster, and Republicans grow government a little bit slower. But both sides are responsible for the fiscal mess we’re in today.
Republicans say tomayto; Democrats say tomahto. Either way, the song remains the same.
Behind the scenes, the White House needs to “sell” Musk on the president’s vision for capping spending (whatever it is). Give Musk a plan he can believe in, lest his social media griping will escalate. Hell, give him an opportunity to recommend a plan!
We need his buy-in.
The Democratic Party — and by extension, the mainstream media — will push, prod, and promote a Musk-Trump feud. With the Democrats’ approval rating in the toilet, they’re downright giddy over a potential news cycle (finally!) focusing on GOP disunity instead of their own.
They’re hoping and praying that Trump will blast Musk on social media. That’s their PR end-goal: A permanent fracture in the Trump-Musk alliance.
Trump prides himself on being a counterpuncher. After Musk repeatedly attacked him, nothing would be more Trumpian than returning fire — and to do so with much more ammo. After all, this is his M.O.
But I hope he doesn’t.
Musk can’t return to the left. Not yet; they won’t let him. He’s too useful as a campaign foil; he’s their lead villain in their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. Ever since the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, the Dems have discovered it’s far easier to run against Musk than Trump, so they’re not gonna give up the only advantage they have.
But if Musk keeps attacking, eventually, Trump will respond.
Related: Is Elon Musk About to Self-Destruct?
We’re at a tipping point, with all sides rapidly approaching the precipice. Cooler heads may prevail — but not necessarily.
This could still go either way.
Elon Musk is a super-genius, but he’s an emotionally immature, neurodivergent super-genius. He’s brilliant at tech trends, but his temperament is ill-suited for political persuasion. Hopefully, he understands that alienating MAGA won’t win him back the love, adoration, and Tesla sales of liberals.
All it would do is put Musk alone on an island where he’s surrounded by his enemies.
There’s one final PR curveball to look out for: Trump might decide that it’s time to toss Musk to the curb. If Musk told Trump that he won’t be donating any more money to conservative candidates and will be increasing his criticism of Trump’s legislation, it would make sense for Trump to be the one who ends the relationship.
Why should he wait around for Musk to dump him? Better to be the one who calls the shots — and to do so publicly.
Excommunicating Musk would deprive the Dems of their best talking point!
Still, I hope that doesn’t happen. The Trump-Musk alliance is too valuable, too important to squander. There’s more work left to do.
But the storm clouds are growing.
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