Donald Trump’s staff have privately grumbled about the new house guest at Mar-a-Lago who won’t seem to leave, while the company in question, Elon Musk, continues to step out ahead of Trump on matters of both policy and personnel.
On the flight to the UFC match, Musk spoke at length with Donald Trump Jr. and other guests about his different ideas.
“Elon Musk and President Trump are great friends and brilliant leaders working together to Make America Great Again.
Elon Musk is a once in a generation businessman and our federal bureaucracy will certainly benefit from his ideas and efficiency,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance transition spokesperson.
“Elon, like President Trump, doesn’t give a shit about what people think about him, and President Trump finds that refreshing,” said a person who has watched him and Musk interact recently.
The new house guest at Mar-a-Lago who refuses to leave has been the subject of private complaints from Donald Trump’s staff, while Elon Musk’s company continues to outperform Trump on personnel and policy issues.
Even though Musk’s influence turns out to have genuine limits, the new friendship has persisted, leaving some Trump supporters in disbelief. The incoming president still can’t seem to get enough of it.
The most recent example was Trump’s field trip with Musk on Tuesday to observe the billionaire’s SpaceX launch in Texas.
Sen. Trump was among the group of lawmakers and aides he brought. Tenn. Rep. Bill Hagerty. ), a leading candidate for Treasury secretary, to the inauguration. Musk embraced the president-elect warmly and gave him a tour of his space base.
Over the past two weeks, the world’s wealthiest man and the incoming president have appeared to be inseparable. Musk has joined Trump and his family for meals, sat in on calls with world leaders, and been everywhere as the president-elect plans out his second term.
It appears, however, that Musk’s impact on Trump’s decision-making process is limited. Defying Trump and his staff’s standard talking points, Musk has openly supported Senate leadership and personnel choices that never came to pass.
One of Musk’s setbacks was advocating for Sen. Sen. Rick Scott was elected majority leader. John Thune, following Trump’s refusal to intervene); and promoting Howard Lutnick as Treasury Secretary, only to have Trump name his transition head to administer the Commerce Department. When it came to Lutnick, Musk was particularly outspoken, telling his millions of followers on X that he supported him. Trump didn’t seem to care because Lutnick ended up in a different administration position than the one he had lobbied for.
At the same time, Musk was involved in Trump’s choice of Brendan Carr to lead the Federal Communications Commission this week. During 2024, Carr’s advocacy and Musk’s interests have closely aligned, and the two have promoted one another on social media. He is now in a position to influence important aspects of Trump administration policy, including in ways that could help Musk’s companies, such as Starlink, a satellite broadband provider that may be eligible for additional contracts and subsidies.
This tug-of-war is all a part of what is turning out to be possibly America’s most significant friendship. Trump has called Musk a “genius” while listening to the eccentric owner of SpaceX and Tesla share ideas and suggestions, demonstrating his obvious enamorement. Musk, who called himself Trump’s “first buddy,” has also been fascinated by the process of establishing a new White House system. A person close to the former president claims that he has approached the transition process like a scientist, dissecting issues and closely watching MAGA scenes, such as his first UFC fight last weekend.
Along the way, he has gained the support of some of Trump’s closest allies. Musk talked extensively with Donald Trump Jr. during the flight to the UFC bout. and other visitors regarding his various viewpoints.
Trump Jr. remarked, “I wished we were going twenty times further when I got off the plane.”. To Charlie Kirk, she gushed. One of the most interesting conversations I’ve ever had took place there, and I wish we could have stayed for twenty hours. You simply cannot understand the level of genius. I just want to listen to the questions you ask. “.”.
However, Trump and his family haven’t seemed to care that Musk is still around and interfering with transition decisions, despite aides and advisers complaining to the media about it.
So far, Trump, who likes to hang out at his club with a diverse group of celebrities and business moguls, has put up with Musk’s actions that could have angered other people.
Together, Elon Musk and President Trump are two outstanding leaders and close friends who are striving to “Make America Great Again.”. The Trump-Vance transition spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, stated that Elon Musk is a once-in-a-generation entrepreneur whose ideas and efficiency will undoubtedly benefit our federal bureaucracy.
Trump and Musk have met in Texas in the past week alone, where a Tesla Cybertruck joined Trump’s motorcade, and they have also traveled to Washington, D.C. attended a professional fight, ate McDonald’s early in the morning, sang in front of all of Trump’s friends at Mar-a-Lago, and spoke to GOP lawmakers. At Trump’s insistence, Musk and his young son, X, appeared in the Trump family photo on election night. In the days that followed, Trump’s granddaughter claimed that Musk had attained “uncle status.”. “”.
In a joke, the former president even said he had no idea when Musk would depart.
Someone who has recently observed Elon and Musk’s interactions said, “Elon, like President Trump, doesn’t give a shit what people think about him, and President Trump finds that refreshing.”. Elon is arguably the only man on the planet who can identify with President Trump on a genuine level. “”.
Musk, who is in the room for startup-style discussions unlike any he has participated in before, seems particularly content with the friendship.
Being the president of the United States is the biggest challenge there is. “I believe he is captivated by problem-solving, which allows him to assist in resolving issues that you would not otherwise encounter,” the Trump associate stated.
It’s not as though Musk hasn’t had influence, even though he has missed out on some Trump decisions since the election. The president-elect’s attendance at the SpaceX launch is more attention than most CEOs could ever hope for.
Last week, Musk also received the newly created title of co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE—a reference to Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency that Musk had previously bragged about.
The tale of Trump’s new cost-cutting plan, in typical 2024 fashion, begins with Musk’s riff on a podcast a few months prior.
In an interview with host Lex Fridman in August, Musk stated, “I have discussed with Trump the idea of a government efficiency commission.”. Musk then discussed it with Trump in an August meeting. 13 discussion on Musk’s X social media account. In a kind reply, Trump referred to Musk as a “great cutter.”. “.”.
In September. 5 Trump declared the creation of the commission and DOGE following his victory this month.
Trump was also persuaded by Musk about the advantages of this innovative satellite broadband service. Trump claimed during the fall campaign trail that at first he didn’t know much about how it operated (“What’s Starlink?” he asked). However, he was astounded by the satellite service’s potential when he witnessed how it could aid in hurricane recovery efforts and during discussions with Musk about the offering. He related how pleased customers of Starlink told him that the service was “much better than the wires.”. “”.
As Trump agency leaders consider different technology options to connect more Americans to broadband, Musk may see real benefits from that.
With the enormous ramifications, both supporters and detractors are closely watching where the friendship goes from here.
According to a Mar-a-Lago participant who has observed Trump and Musk’s interactions, “it’s a bromance, and they are having a blast.”. “”.
This report was written with assistance from John Hendel and Derek Robertson.
