Self-interest suggests Trump and Musk bromance will last

Jon Sopel, The Independent

We’ve all been there. That infatuation moment. That time at the outset of a relationship when you can’t think about anyone else, don’t want to be with anyone else. Every minute without them is a minute wasted; where you find yourself engaging in their hobbies because if they love them, so must you, too. And broadly speaking, that is where we are in that most unlikely of bromances: that of Elon and Don.

Since Trump’s election win a fortnight ago, Musk has all but moved into Mar-a-Lago. Trump has even joked about it during a speech. “Elon, what a job, what a job he does,” he said. “He’s great, he happens to be a really good guy. You know, he likes this place. I can’t get him out of here.” After Trump’s election victory and the president-elect had a call with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, who else was on the call? Why, Elon of course. Who has been sitting on all the meetings as Trump tries to shape his cabinet? Yep, Trump’s new bestie from Silicon Valley.

Just look at their date nights together. Musk flew up with Trump last weekend to attend the UFC fight night at Madison Square Garden in New York. The picture released of them on the plane, tucking into Big Macs and fries, is one for the ages (perhaps even better than those of Trump “working” in McDonald’s during his campaign...). And playing third wheel was health secretary pick, Robert F Kennedy Jr., who, despite his famed war against processed food, also had a burger in hand.

Then this week it was Elon’s turn to play host to Don, as Trump flew with him to Texas to witness a successful test launch of SpaceX’s Starship rocket. Now, it’s true the booster rocket didn’t come back to the launch site to be grabbed by those embracing and technologically astonishing arms — and maybe that will be the way their relationship goes; no warm embrace in future.

That’s the outcome some have predicted. One of America’s best and shrewdest political commentators, Mike Murphy, said they are two tomcats sharing a pillowcase. Also, if the past is a prelude, look at Trump’s first term. How many of those who were close and in senior positions at the start were still there at the end? There was a revolving door at the White House where people would arrive with 100-watt smiles, showered in praise, only to leave a short time later with a knife sticking out of their backs after falling out with the president.

But this is different. This relationship is different. Sure there is only so long that Elon will want to go and watch mixed martial arts fights, and Trump feigning interest in astro-physics will surely be fleeting. Always expect a reversion to the norm. Why I say it is different is that Donald Trump likes and wants a lot of what Elon Musk can do for him; and Elon Musk likes what Donald Trump will be able to deliver for him. There is mutual self-interest. It is business.

Now, I hear your riposte to this: this is not the first time in history that a person in power has been attracted to a super-wealthy man; nor the first time that a multi-squillionaire has wanted to be pals with someone at the centre of power. And media moguls (we must now consider Musk one) have always sought to use their newspapers to advance their business and political ambitions. Is Musk today any different from, say, the print baron William Randolph Hearst over a hundred years ago, with his vice-like control of his newspapers’ political coverage? Or, in more modern times, Rupert Murdoch?

John Major tells the story of how Rupert Murdoch came to see him in Downing Street and told him to change his policy on Europe or forgo support of The Sun. What we are seeing today is qualitatively and quantitatively different. So far as I know, previous media moguls didn’t sit in on calls with foreign leaders — or decide who should or shouldn’t be in the cabinet. I don’t remember them being put in charge of reshaping government as Elon Musk has, with his Doge (Department of Government Efficiency) appointment.