Donald Trump and Elon Musk have squashed their beef, but the president-elect has accidentally admitted that jokes about a Musk presidency have bruised his ego.
To recap, Trump made waves in November when he gave Musk a role within his administration. According to Reuters, Trump bestowed the Tesla CEO the power to control the Department of Government Efficiency, along with Vivek Ramaswamy. Their objective, according to Trump, is to “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Following the announcement, Musk popped up at Trump’s America First Policy Institute Gala and spoke a little bit about his shiny new title. “As President Trump said, what we need is common sense,” Musk said during the event (via Fox Business). “This won’t be business as usual. This is going to be a revolution,” he continued.
Unsurprisingly, many of Trump’s supporters have expressed excitement about his team-up with Musk. However, some have gone the cynical route, implying that Musk will be controlling his puppet strings behind the scenes, with more claiming he is gunning for his own shot at the presidency. The latter group granted the SpaceX CEO the title of President Musk, often garnering thousands of likes on Musk’s X-owned platform. Now Trump has addressed the conversation, and it’s clear he’s not happy.
Donald Trump shows his true colors about Elon Musk
Let social media tell it, Donald Trump won’t assume the office of the presidency for the second time — at least not in a meaningful way. Why? Well, because Elon Musk has somehow usurped Trump’s position and is the man with the real power. The proof is in the hundreds and thousands of comments across various platforms that position Trump as nothing more than Musk’s lackey. One post on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows an illustration of Musk sitting at the desk in the Oval Office, while Trump wearily stands behind him. Another post, which has been viewed over 565,000 times, shows a simulated video of Trump dressed as a waiter serving Musk a canned drink on a silver platter.
#PresidentMusk pic.twitter.com/lRR11KK258
— Tim Hannan (@TimHannan) December 22, 2024
While speaking about Musk’s new role during Turning Point USA’s America Fest, Trump shut down speculation about his supposed influence (and flaunted his bruised ego in the process). “We will create the new Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk,” he said to thunderous applause, which possibly ignited a wave of insecurity, because he addressed the President Musk memes in his next breath (via CNN). “And no, he’s not taking the presidency,” Trump continued. Explaining Musk’s involvement in his upcoming administration, he added, “I like having smart people. You know, they’re on new kick. Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine — all the different hoaxes.” According to Trump, the new conspiracy involving him is that he’s “ceded the presidency to Elon Musk.” But although he believes Musk has done a great job, “that’s not happening.”
Given that Trump already seemed a little tired of Musk, it’ll be interesting to see how long this new partnership lasts.
