Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk jumps on stage as he arrives to talk at a city corridor occasion hosted by America PAC in assist of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on the Better Philadelphia Expo Heart in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on October 18, 2024. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON — As Donald Trump prepares his return to the White Home, certainly one of his most omnipresent confidants has been not his operating mate or spouse however a fellow brash billionaire, Elon Musk.
Since campaigning for Trump — with such enthusiasm that Musk actually jumped within the air at a rally — Musk has been a near-constant presence at Trump’s aspect.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has joined phone calls with world leaders and distributed recommendation on personnel decisions each immediately and publicly via X, the social media platform he purchased.
READ: Trump to enter second time period with nearly unchecked energy
In between his fixed postings of memes of himself and Trump, Musk has even embraced a title instructed for his position: “First Buddy.”
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When the president-elect triumphantly returned to Washington on Wednesday, tagging alongside aboard his aircraft was Musk, the world’s richest individual, who seems to have spent many of the week for the reason that election hobnobbing at Trump’s Florida property, Mar-a-Lago.
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Musk, buying and selling his Silicon Valley bro sweatshirts for a crisp and somber black swimsuit, was given a front-row seat amongst Republican Home lawmakers who gathered to listen to the president-elect.
“Elon, you’ve been so good,” Trump stated, because the elected representatives supplied Musk a standing ovation, based on footage posted by a congressman.
READ: Trump says Elon Musk to go US ‘authorities effectivity’ division
On Tuesday, Trump appointed Musk and one other billionaire, former Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy, to a brand new “Division of Authorities Effectivity” tasked with trimming down Washington paperwork.
Musk, who sacked 80 p.c of Twitter’s workforce when he purchased it and rechristened it as X, vowed in an announcement to “ship shockwaves via the system, and anybody concerned in authorities waste.”
Musk has additionally supplied recommendation nicely exterior of any outlined lane for him.
He referred to as for the appointment of the president-elect’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump to a US Senate seat anticipated to open up in Florida ought to Marco Rubio develop into secretary of state.
Musk — and never profession diplomats, as can be customary — reportedly joined Trump in calls with the leaders of Turkey and Ukraine, the place Musk’s Starlink has supplied a significant supply of communication throughout the battle.
He additionally has taken to X whereas advising Trump to again efforts to defeat Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trump’s perilous interior circle
The South African-born Musk, who controversially ran a $1 million-a-day sweepstakes in swing states in a transparent bid to draw Trump voters, has to date managed to keep away from blowback from the mercurial president-elect.
Trump has gone as far as to counsel he would put apart a few of his local weather skepticism and again electrical vehicles resulting from Musk.
The president-elect was stated to fume after a first-term consigliere, far-right political strategist Steve Bannon, appeared on the duvet of Time journal and was described because the “second strongest man on the earth.”
Trump ultimately fired him and nicknamed him “Sloppy Steve.”
Musk, whose Tesla vehicles had been standing symbols for rich liberals, has additionally shortly develop into a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats.
Senator Elizabeth Warren mocked the brand new initiative of Musk and Ramaswamy, writing on X that the trouble for effectivity was “off to an important begin with break up management: two individuals to do the work of 1 individual.”
Till the most recent election, Musk stated he voted for Democrats for president, together with Joe Biden.
The turning level, based on a Wall Road Journal report, was when Biden invited automaker executives to the White Home however snubbed Musk as a result of Tesla, not like the Detroit Massive Three, will not be unionized.
Regardless of the causes, Musk’s political transformation has paid off with entry unimaginable with most presidents.
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On Election Evening, a beaming Trump gathered his household collectively for an image at Mar-a-Lago. His spouse Melania was lacking however, at Trump’s urging, into the image got here Musk, certainly one of his dozen kids in his arms.
