Team Trump Pushes Back on ‘President Musk’ Speech Amid Spending Bill Negotiations

On By Littum

Elon Musk’s unparalleled ability to weaponize his social media platform, X, against politicians who defy his wishes entered the focus Thursday as Musk helped kill a bipartisan deal to finance the government after Friday.

That has prompted some critics of President-elect Donald Trump to highlight how secondary he appears to Musk as “President Musk” references proliferate online. Democrats and their allies have taken up the name and shared photos showing Trump as Musk’s servant or neighbor.

Take this photo submitted by Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, for example:

More examples here, here and here.

Team Trump doesn’t seem happy about all this mockery and talk of Musk’s power. In a post Thursday to the social media platform he owns, Musk tried to downplay claims he‘s runs the Republican Partydespite his hour-long tweetstorm slamming the bipartisan deal brokered by House Speaker Mike Johnson. And Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt issued a statement to several media outlets on Thursday tried to interrupt the “President Musk” speech and insist that Trump is still in charge of his party.

“As soon as President Trump released his official position on (continuing resolution), Republicans echoed his view,” Leavitt said. “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Period.”

But if your spokespeople have to issue public statements that no, really, you’re in charge, it’s only because it’s not as obvious as it should be. Needless to say, Musk is not actually president (and under the constitution as it is currently written, he cannot be, as someone who is not a natural born citizen).

A problem for Trump is that he has billed his vast wealth and vast audience as indicators of power, in politics or beyond. Remember when he ran for president against Hillary Clinton and claimed that his wealth gave him control over any politician to whom he had donated? And remember, when he around the same time boastgoat about his large following on social media?

The tables, it seems, have turned.

Now Trump is the establishment politician he is used to condemnwhose power is overshadowed by a well-heeled outsider. And at least he seems like it willing to engage in some trade-offs with its wealthy benefactors – including Musk – as he portrayed the Clintons to be. Musk has significantly more money than Trump and, thanks to his acquisition of Twitter, a much more powerful megaphone. Washington Post recently published a report that showed Musk’s social media audience dwarfs all other politicians, including Trump.

So despite Musk not being president, it seems pretty clear that if wealth and influence are the measures of power that Trump claimed they are, it is Musk who is able to steer the ship that is the Republican Party .