Open acrimony
Aw gee, their great love lasted only three months.
President Trump and Elon Musk’s alliance dissolved into open acrimony on Thursday, as the two men hurled personal attacks at each other after the billionaire had unleashed broadsides against the president’s signature domestic policy bill.
While meeting with Friedrich Merz, Germany’s new chancellor, in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump broke days of uncharacteristic silence and unloaded on Mr. Musk, who until last week was a top presidential adviser.
“I’m very disappointed in Elon,” Mr. Trump said. “I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
As the president criticized Mr. Musk, the billionaire responded in real time on X, the social media platform he owns.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Mr. Musk wrote.
“Such ingratitude,” he added, taking credit for Mr. Trump’s election in a way that he never has before.
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless Donald.
Mr. Musk had been careful in recent days to train his ire on Republicans in Congress, not Mr. Trump himself. But he discarded that caution on Thursday, ridiculing the president in a pattern familiar to the many previous Trump advisers who have fallen by the wayside.
I wonder why that is. It’s very puzzling. Let’s put our thinking caps on. Hmm…could it be…is it possibly because he is exactly what he appears to be but these fools refuse to get it until he does it to them?
What started as simply a fight over the domestic policy bill sharply escalated in just a few hours. Within minutes of one another, Mr. Trump was making fun of Mr. Musk’s unwillingness to wear makeup to cover a recent black eye, and Mr. Musk was raising questions about Mr. Trump’s competency as president.
Gee, Elon, it would have been great if you had grasped this obvious point BEFORE YOU HELPED HIM WIN THE ELECTION AND SET ABOUT DESTROYING THE WORLD.
And then there’s this:
Bullshit. The ravings of a self important slob. Trump played you like the fool that you are, Elon. Why wouldn’t Trump use every available advantage? Musk is only pissed off because he’s been outed as a tool. Trump didn’t need Musk to win, but why would he turn away the miniscule voting percentage that he offered? But then Musk did the Nazi salute, and only after Trump won, then took credit for his contribution, meanwhile revealing himself as the racist fuck that he is. As cult of personalities go, Musk is but a small racist fish in a giant political quagmire. And as it happens now, Musk has no political power to speak of, and now no authority, so he’s reduced to making comments on social media, which are so easily dismissable. As is Elon — dismissable AF. Trump should ignore him.
But Trump won’t ignore him, will he. Musk has a giant stack of chips in his corner of the sandbox, and that Trump cannot ignore, despite the enormous stack of chips (the US economy) that’s under Trump’s control for the most part, though Trump’s personal stack of chips is small by comparison. It’s all very 3rd grade maths. There’s nothing better than a preadolescent fool making another preadolescent fool look like a chump. I’m going to have to hand it to Trump on this one. Musk, in the game he is playing, is out of his league.
Free the Epstein files!
This falling out was inevitable. There’s just not enough space for two huge, toxic egos (neither one of whom would have been at all phased by the Total Perspective Vortex), to coexist. I’m amazed this marriage of convenience lasted as long as it did. Neither one has changed; each was an asshole going in, but each was willing to overlook the other’s massive faults as long as they were getting something out of the deal. They were using each other, but ultimately it was Trump’s show. Whether Musk knew and understood this is anyone’s guess. He probably thought he was somehow in the line of succession. I’m guessing Musk has burned all of his “Trump was right about everything” gear.
As far as revealing that Trump is in the Epstein files, I’d have been surprised if he wasn’t. Mind you, I’m not going to take Musk’s word for it.
Will Republicans now show some concern about the degree of unprecidented, unauthorized access given to Musk and his interns when he was still on “their” side? Will they launch investigations into this, now that it would suit Trump’s personal grudge? Will any Republicans suddenly develop vertebrae, now that Musk can no longer threaten to primary them?
Some bold predictions:
Musk will try to do something with all the confidential information he copied from the government deprtments to which he was given access. Maybe we’ll finally see Trump’s tax return!
Trump will use the power at his disposal to continue to humiliate and punish Musk, because he has to show Musk (and everyone else on Earth) that Trump is the top Boss/King/Saviour/Genius. He will feel compelled to rub Musk’s nose in the fact that Elon is a LOSER. He won’t let little things like the law get in his way. He’ll probably encourage people to vandalize Teslas; his followers will probably do so on their own, even if he doesn’t suggest it to them.
Trump will blame Musk for any and all unpopular reductions and eliminations in government services (even ones that weren’t instigated by Musk), despite the fact that they all came with Trump’s aid and blessing, and despite the fact that Trump himself is ultimately responsible for everything that happens under his authority. How long before Trump claims he “really didn’t know him, or work with him that closely.” I wonder how many of Trump’s junta, right-wing commentator, and general MAGA types, with Musk’s fall from grace, will now say that DOGE “went too far.” Again, nothing has changed, except for the revised calculus of mutual parisitism.
Trump, the Tangerine Nightmare, is the last person in the world who should be offering any kind of advice on cosmetics.
Quite. Hindsight is always 20/20.
The makeup thing is hilarious. “Ffs pile on the makeup Elon!!! It will make you look 30 years younger and handsome as Elvis, and no one will ever suspect that it came out of a jar.”
Don’t cover up the black eye, but definitely do cover up the baldness — that we can’t have. At least the hair implants aren’t as goofy looking as the orange combover.