Trump And Musk’s Bromance Is Doomed. It’s A Pity We All Have To Be Along For The Ride
If Donald Trump’s inauguration was anything to go by, then Joe Biden’s final remarks from the Oval Office may turn out to be his most prescient. As Biden railed against the dangers oligarchy poses to American democracy, President Trump was putting the finishing touches on a guest list replete with the world’s richest and most influential business leaders.
Among them was Elon Musk, the latest in a long line of businessmen and venture capitalists to bow to Donald Trump. Though Musk has undoubtedly sought to align himself ideologically with Trump, his move to appeal to the 45th and 47th President is as cynical as the other attempts at courtship so fawningly on display on inauguration day.
Many of those enjoying the celebrations might have been better off keeping a healthy distance from the whole charade. Trump made a habit of firing many of the pitiable creatures who entered his orbit. A total of 14 cabinet members departed during his first term, more than the number who left under Clinton, Bush, and Obama combined. After ten seasons as the head honcho on ‘The Apprentice’, firing people on a whim seems a hard urge to shake for ‘the Donald’.
Few, barring Trump’s immediate family members, were spared during his first term. Not even the close ties Steve Bannon fostered as Trump’s campaign manager managed to save him. Despite hyperbolic praise to begin with, in the end, he suffered the same fate as many others fleetingly in the Trump circle. Left in the lurch with a regrettably catchy, though equally derisory, moniker: as lasting nicknames go, ‘Sloppy Steve’ must have hurt for a man so preoccupied with finding his rightful place in history.
So far, little suggests that Musk won’t succumb to the same fate. Some reports have already hinted that the pair’s honeymoon period may be over. He is similar to Bannon in a number of capacities, not least a growing proclivity to give fascist salutes. Further disagreements are likely. Even with the tech mogul's obsequious displays of loyalty, this marriage of political convenience built by Trump and Musk perches on irreconcilable contradictions.
Trump’s political dynasty rests on a coalition of the forgotten and disaffected — those who have suffered in an era of deindustrialisation, or feel left behind by the vicissitudes of globalisation.
Musk, on the other hand, was one of globalism’s favourite sons. Though now, he’d probably be a rather ironic one. The South African émigré is a citizen of three countries, and a man who, until recently, was best known for being the climate-conscious CEO of Tesla - the world’s most recognisable electric car company. His story is hardly the working-class fable Donald Trump peddles as though it were his own biography.
This unwieldy alliance between MAGA economic nationalists and Silicon Valley opportunists with deep pockets has already faltered on the issue of migration. Laura Loomer, a far-right provocateur and MAGA acolyte, went after tech bros for their use of H-1B visas, a programme that allows companies to bring foreign workers into specialised fields. Musk took to his own social media site, X, to launch a profanity-laden riposte in defence of the programme.
Musk and Big Tech have arguably benefited the most from the steady stream of highly-skilled immigrant labour. Those on H-1B visas are more readily exploitable than your average American. They tend to work longer hours for lower pay. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank, H-1B workers are underpaid anywhere between 17-34% in the tech sector.
Though interests of private capital have often lined up behind Trump, they would surely start to squeal should the President enact an immigration policy that appeals to his base but cuts off the supply of America’s most exploitable yet dedicated workers.
The row over H-1B has since subsided. But given Trump’s reliance on immigration narratives, the smart money is on it resurfacing at some point.
The second set of contradictions exists at a more existential level. They relate to the character and temperament of the two men.
Clashes of personality have unsurprisingly always been a feature in the era of Trump. When he sought the Presidency for the first time, Trump seemed to revel in his capacity to elicit criticism from Republican party stalwarts. Mitt Romney and the late John McCain, both of whom launched failed bids for the White House, a fact Donald Trump never ceases to delight at repeating, have criticised the President for his inimitably cavalier style.
Elon Musk presents an altogether different proposition. While irreconcilable differences provided a considerable source of the interpersonal melodrama surrounding Trump, in the case of Musk, it is what makes them both so similar that will eventually drive them apart.
Both crave the limelight, especially the attention and adulation it brings. They both cast themselves as America’s saviour against a singularly evil force. They are both remarkably self-centred individuals who have historically operated in industries that value hubristic levels of self-confidence above all else. But the point of a God complex built entirely on delusions of grandeur is that there can be room for only one God. Two cannot play at this game.
Musk also has an unfortunate tendency to cast a uniquely annoying shadow over any public engagement he is a part of. His habit of offering unsolicited opinions on issues beyond his core competence has already drawn the ire of a number of White House aides. Given that Trump, throughout his career, has shown little patience for people who annoy him or even those who think they know more than him, perhaps the writing for Musk’s departure is already on the wall.
The fallout of watching an immeasurably irritating force collide with an immovably irritable object might make for great reality TV. Unfortunately, the reality for us onlookers is more instability and chaos.
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