Elephants at Court
- Karl Johansson
- 9 juni
- 3 min läsning
Uppdaterat: 8 juli
Musk and Trump are beefing. Why and will they make up?
I’ve consistently argued that Trump’s administration works like a royal court of old rather than a serious administrative state, and now we have all witness a classic court drama in the White House. As many people, including me, have predicted, Elon Musk and Donald Trump have finally had a major row. Why did they start beefing, and should we expect them to make up?
I did indeed predict the blow-up but don’t get me wrong, this post is not a victory lap where I brag about predicting that two arrogant narcissist billionaires would have a falling out. Partly due to my Swedish aversion to bragging, but mostly because it was almost as certain as predicting the sun will rise tomorrow. Both men sharing traits including being vindictive and having thin skin amplifies their aptitude for getting into unnecessary quarrels. Not good qualities when navigating life at court.
The media reports the story as though the specifics like the specific bill which the row is ostensibly about are important but I think the talk about bills and votes is overcomplicating things. At its core the beef is about power and trying to get your priorities through. Musk thinks that he’s the coolest at court and Trump disagrees. All the talk about caring about the deficit is a smokescreen. Self-absorbed billionaires are not used to being contradicted and not getting what they want, the way they want it. They are rarely challenged by equals which I suspect makes them overestimate their abilities. Trump was sure that Musk was really loyal, and Musk thought he had real power in the Trump court independently from the president. Both were wrong, resulting in a very public argument between the president and his “first buddy”. If they go at it for real Musk is destined to lose as he cannot arrest Trump the way the president could. That’s not to say that Musk holds no cards, indeed tweaking the X algorithm could tilt the political on conservatives’ stomping grounds more hostile to the king and his courtiers. Possibly triggering a spiral of escalation.
I would not expect any rapprochement between the two but if it did happen it would be short. Mar-a-Lago only has enough space for one ego in Trump’s and Musk’s size. I don’t think either man is eager, or even willing, to apologise to the other. As I wrote in November 2024: It is easy to underestimate Trump, and when you see his speeches it is easy to get the sense that he is not the brightest. Why not cozy up to him and give him some good ideas? I’m absolutely certain that Musk and Trump will have a dramatic falling out. Trump has many failings but having grown up a rich man I’m sure he can spot someone trying to take advantage of him, and will not take it well. Given Musk’s history of baselessly accusing people he dislikes of paedophilia and Trump’s vindictive streak I expect an intra-billionaire row of epic proportions in 2025."
As fun as watching the reality TV-quality of court life can be (when it is not tragic) it is a great disservice to ordinary Americans. When the elephants fight the ants suffer most. MAGA’s two biggest elephants are fighting with acrimony swirling on all sides. These two will never make up. That is good in the sense of ending that bromance, but very bad in the sense that these are particularly big elephants.
If you liked this post you can read a previous post about media cover of Ukraine here or the rest of my writings here. I also have a section for longer reads I call essays here, I particularly recommend my essay on Silicon Valley and AI called 'No Acoustic Guitars in Silicon Valley'.It'd mean a lot to me if you recommended the blog to a friend or coworker. Come back next Monday for a new post!
I've always been interested in politics, economics, and the interplay between. The blog is a place for me to explore different ideas and concepts relating to economics or politics, be that national or international. The goal for the blog is to make you think; to provide new perspectives.
Written by Karl Johansson
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