Friday, June 06, 2025

THE TRUMP-MUSK WAR IS ALREADY OVER, AND TRUMP (AND THE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL) WON

The feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump has gone on for about a week, and Musk already wants to kiss and make up:


Trump is telling the media that he's not interested:
Speaking on a phone call Friday morning shortly before 7 a.m., ABC News asked him about reports he had a call scheduled with Musk for later in the day.

"You mean the man who has lost his mind?" he asked, saying he was "not particularly" interested in talking to him right now.

He said Musk wants to talk to him, but he's not ready to talk to Musk.
However:
People close to Trump have described him as more sad than angry at Musk. One adviser who was with Trump on Thursday night said he seemed "bummed" about the breakup. And that's the way he sounded on Friday morning.
I wouldn't rule out a private conversation over the weekend, followed by a reconciliation. When have you known Trump to "more sad than angry at" someone who defied him this way? Maybe he feels that way about Putin -- but that gives you an idea of how Trump looks at Musk. He doesn't see him as a subordinate from whom he expects absolute loyalty. He clearly sees him as a big mover and shaker (and sees himself as an even bigger man because Musk does his bidding, or used to do it, which is also how Trump wants to see Putin).

But Musk has lost this war already, and I'm somewhat surprised. If you go to Musk's feed on X, you see that most of his tweets and retweets are about the fact that the Big Beautiful Bill will increase the national debt.


Many congressional Republicans have been saying the same thing. A large segment of the congressional GOP wants -- and has always wanted -- to cut more, more, more. GOP voters feel the same way, at least in the abstract. (Polls show that GOP voters don't want Medicaid cut, for instance.) But congressional Republicans are rallying around Trump, as The Wall Street Journal reports:
Rep. Troy Nehls (R., Texas), a vocal President Trump defender, stared into television cameras that circled him outside the Capitol steps and addressed Elon Musk: “You’ve lost your damn mind.”

“Enough is enough. Stop this,” he said....

In the fight between the Republican titans, most GOP lawmakers sided with Trump. Rep. Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.) said Musk is “going off the deep end” with his call for Trump’s impeachment and suggested Musk is losing his sway with the MAGA crowd....
It appears that Musk has made it less likely that the "cut more" crowd will prevail:
Musk’s attacks had raised the possibility that conservatives could extract more cuts from such programs as Medicaid, but that new push appeared to stall as Musk’s fight with Trump stretched deeper into Thursday.

“He hasn’t moved a vote,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R., La.) of Musk.

White House aides argued Musk’s broadsides would weaken the position of Republican critics of the megabill, who had initially viewed Musk’s spotlight on deficits as helpful to their cause.
Republicans are angry at Musk for bringing this up:


Fox News reports:
House GOP lawmakers are accusing Elon Musk of going "too far" after he suggested President Donald Trump was "in the Epstein files."

"Hopefully we never have to answer questions about tweets like that from Elon again," said Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, calling Musk's comments "not helpful."

"Elon crossed the line today," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital....

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, said Musk had "gone too far."

"There's just no need for this," Nehls said. "Those conversations should be taking place behind closed doors."
But can't Musk just take his money and start a third party that will destroy the GOP? Well, sure, he's thinking about it, as is at least one Techworld billionaire.


But Republican voters will overwhelmingly side with Trump:


Poll results here. I think it's possible that this party could draw as many disaffected Democrats (and apolitical voters who always or sometimes lean Democratic) as it does Republicans.

In the modern GOP, either you're a Trumper in good standing or a you're a traitor to America, Christianity, and common decency. There's no middle ground. Trump is God. I was thinking about calling this post "You Come at God, You'd Best Not Miss," but God is God -- in the GOP, it's unthinkable that Trump is capable of meaningful error. There's no way Musk could come out of a fight with God looking like the good guy.
Posted by Steve M. at 10:55 AM

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