As one politico points out, Elon Musk’s hold on Donald Trump seems akin to the president-elect’s control own takeover of the GOP.
In an interview with Newsweek, Democratic strategist Chai Komanduri suggested that the Muskian agenda is now the Republican party line — and that may help the billionaire’s bottom line, too.
“The Republican Party is led by an elderly man who is increasingly deluded, distracted and extremely greedy,” said the longtime strategist and MSNBC contributor. “[Musk] saw an opportunity here, also, with the fact that there is no clear MAGA successor.”
“He said, ‘The Republican Party is here for the taking,'” Komanduri told the magazine of Musk’s potential frame of mind. “‘I just have to deal with Trump, and then it will be mine.'”
By joining forces with Trump, the multi-hyphenate business owner seems to have made a “very clear investment opportunity,” Komanduri said.
Indeed, as Business Insider noted in another recent analysis, Musk’s seemingly outrageous over-spending on purchasing Twitter back in 2022 may be paying off in spades now that he wields such political influence — and it all raises the question: is Trump the boss of Musk, or vice versa?
A looming question since the election has been how long the Musk-Trump bromance will last, especially since Trump’s last administration quickly became a revolving door of spurned former loyalists.
While there have been reports of tensions between the Tesla and SpaceX owner and members of Trump’s posse, the South African-𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 mogul’s appearance at the president-elect’s Thanksgiving dinner — not to mention the pair’s bizarro joint dance to The Village People’s “YMCA” — suggests he’s in the inner sanctum, at least for now.
In an interview with CNN last week, New York Times senior political reporter Maggie Haberman opined that if Trump has grown weary of the brash billionaire whose dollars boosted him into office, he hasn’t been “making that especially public.”
Given that it’s rare for people in the president-elect’s orbit to be richer than him, Musk’s money may be part of the draw he holds for Trump, the longtime White House watcher said.
“Musk is also, and depends on the day, the richest or one of the richest men in the world, and Trump has a huge fascination with wealth,” she said. “As you noted, Trump equates wealth with intelligence, and so I actually think this relationship could last for quite some time.”
