It turned out to be a fun vacation activity. Social advertising have been full of images showing Donald Trump as Elon Musk’s maid: bringing him coffee in the Oval Office, cleaning his car visor, polishing his boots. The president-elect made it even more entertaining by claiming that Musk, who was not born in the United States, don’t actually expect to be president at a press conference in Mar a Lago. Shakespeare could not have put it better: Trump “doth opposition too little, methinks”, as the great writer had a personality say in” Hamlet” in response to a presenting over-reaction.
One of the biggest questions regarding Trump’s subsequent expression in the White House is how this song between Trump and Musk may develop. To keep with Shakespeare, it may be a comedy, apparently under the name of” The Merry Billionaires of Washington”, from Shakespeare’s” The Merry Ladies of Windsor”. But it could quickly become a drama.
How appealing Trump is to additional businessmen, who one might assume would be the epitomes of the hated wealthy, is one of the dilemmas of presumably anti-elite democracy. In fact, there are more than 800 billionaires living in America, and as Trump has announced his government and another nominations over the past month, it has frequently appeared as though every single one of those 800 businessmen might be a part of his state.
The dilemma is simply resolved, yet. Millionaires associate each other well because their enormous money gives them a sense of independence in their thinking and actions, which makes them feel like they can communicate with one another informally and informally, much like the wealthy aristocrats of the past.
Some people also believe that the government imposes limitations on their wealth and their deeds, something they would adorably like to end or get control over. Few of these plutocrats think they acquired their wealth by accident or through the efforts of others because they think they merit more than just their present wealth. And some derive some or all their prosperity from government contracts, particularly America’s great defence budget, thus gaining power over those contracts is obviously of great interest.
This explains why entrepreneurs are so fond of Trump. Beyond the obvious need for their campaign contributions, Trump may like them so little now that he is carefully back in the White House and no longer needs their support. And while it is crystal clear why Musk enjoys being nearer to Trump, it isn’t at all clear why Trump may remain supportive of him.
Elon Musk is unique from the other entrepreneurs who surround Trump in two crucial way. The first is that he owns a social media platform, X, which he purchased in 2022 as Twitter for a reason that paper masters have known in the past: as a tool of social power and status. The second is that he uses X to broadcast his own strong opinions about a wide range of domestic and international concerns.
Musk does agree with many other businessmen, however, that his interests and opinions are incompatible with some, if not all, of the ideas that Trump has made during the plan and since November 5th.
Elon Musk immigrated from South Africa and arrived in the United States via Canada. He is modernization personified: His first billions, from the PayPal payments firm, arose thanks to the industry’s world approach, his SpaceX and Starlink companies depend on launching and operating satellites orbiting the earth, for customers worldwide, and his Tesla electric car company produces cars and components in factories in Germany, China and the Netherlands, as well as Canada and the United States.
The Trump administration’s dramatic production is designed to be filled with laughter, especially when the simplest paradox emerges: Trump wants to occupy the center of the stage, in the brightest of lights, but Musk has teamed up with someone who behaves in the same way. It will be shocking, to say the least, if either of them proves able to share the fame with the other.
The genuine action will start with its potential for conflict when the bigger inconsistencies became clear. During December’s struggle with the outgoing Congress over a temporary federal funds, Musk and Trump competed for the fame, but also, tellingly, over the material of the proposed legislation. Mussinger intervened to have the fiscal bill removed from the bill, which had proposed new restrictions on American companies ‘ investments in China, which had a potential impact on him.
Trump may not have noticed. Or perhaps he didn’t care. However, many other powerful figures in defense, national security, commerce, and the treasury will care a lot about his administration once his administration has been established, and they will not object to Musk interfering in order to protect his own business interests.
The potential for a clash is clear: over” America First” import tariffs versus Musk-style globalization, over “de-coupling” from China versus Tesla’s Chinese factories, between cuts Musk may propose to government spending, and projects dear to the interests of many of Trump’s Republican supporters.
As and when the conflicts occur, they will also create a clash between two of Trump’s key psychological traits: On the one hand, he loves power, on the other hand, he craves approval.
He will want to protect his power against anyone, including Musk or other billionaires, who chooses to challenge it. Trump will be particularly enraged at those whose actions and beliefs appear to be putting in the public’s desire for approval. Musk’s strong, often dogmatic views could easily do that. And yet would Trump dare to fire Musk, given that Musk could then turn his social media platform, X, against him?
The play promises to be riveting. What a shame that we can’t just watch the actors, but rather that we are deeply invested in the outcome.
This article is the original of an Italian version published by La Stampa and was first published in English on Bill Emmott’s Global View. It is republished with permission.