 "Is Elon Musk calling the shots instead of Donald Trump?")
Donald Trump is getting ready to return to the Oval Office in January.
But is Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and the owner of X, calling the shots?
More and more Republicans seem to be openly embracing Musk with some even referring to him as “prime minister.”
This, even as the President-elect himself is rejecting the notion that Musk is in charge.
Let’s take a closer look
Republicans embrace Musk
Republicans are going out of their way to shower Musk with praise.
House Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas called Musk ‘our prime minister.’
“It’s kind of interesting, we have a president, we have a vice president, we have a speaker. It feels like Elon Musk is our prime minister,” Gonzalez told CBS’ Face the Nation.
Gonzales told the outlet he spoke to Musk “a couple times this week” and that “many of us” did so.
However, he did point out that Musk has not been elected to any office.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, meanwhile, told Fox News on Sunday that the idea he’d put out of Musk being House Speaker “might have been tongue-in-cheek,” but that he “appreciated his input.”
“Thank god Elon Musk bought Twitter, because that’s the only way we would even know what’s in this bill,” Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee told CNN.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNBC quoted Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as saying Musk was playing an important role.
“We’re bringing in a consultant from the private sector to put a different set of eyes on what we’re spending money on,” Mullin said.
Mullin, speaking about Musk’s use of X, added, “He has a right to do it. He’s still a private citizen. He’s no different than anyone else.”
Musk, remember, had stepped in to try and tank the bipartisan funding bill to keep the government going.
Musk, who claimed it was “one of the worst bills ever written,” also warned that those who voted for the bill deserve to be “voted out in two years” – which many likely Republicans likely saw as a threat to fund primary challengers.
Trump and Vance then echoes Musk’s call for the bill to be killed – asking for the debt ceiling to be raised or abolished among other things.
Throughout the day Wednesday, Musk replied to posts on X from Republican House members announcing opposition to the bill with words of thanks, and punctuating their public commitments.
And he took a victory lap after Trump came out against the bill: “The voice of the people was heard. This was a good day for America.”
He was responding to Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr’s post: “The phone was ringing off the hook today. And you know why? Because they were reading tweets…from Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.”
By late afternoon Thursday and before the new plan was put to a vote, Musk declared success and posted a picture of the new, slimmed down alternative alongside the voluminous, original measure he helped kill. “This shows how much your voice matters,” he posted. “And having a President like @realDonaldTrump means that your voice is finally heard.”
Conservative activists at the annual AmericaFest gathering in Phoenix cheered Musk Thursday and hailed the suggestion he could replace Johnson as speaker. There’s no requirement that the speaker be an elected member of the House of Representatives.
Should Mike Johnson remain speaker of the House?” conservative media host Jack Posobiec asked his audience during a live taping of his talk show, prompting a chorus of “Noooooo!!!” from his audience.
Johnson had been scheduled to attend AmericaFest, but canceled after the budget deal fell apart.
“Should Elon Musk be speaker of the House?” Posobiec asked his audience, prompting cheers.
Though the Republicans attempted to pass their own bill which included some of Trump’s demands, it quickly went down in flames.
House Speaker Mike Johnson then passed a bill with the support of Democrats – which though removed many of the provisions Trump and Musk found objectionable, did not address the President-elect’s main demand of dealing with the debt ceiling.
Musk downplays role, Trump on defensive
Despite his ultimate failure to get the bill he wanted passed, Musk has received much praise online.
Perhaps mindful of avoiding the President-elect’s displeasure, Musk has sought to downplay his role.
“All I can do is bring things to the attention of the people, so they may voice their support if they so choose.”
Trump, meanwhile, has gone on the defensive.
Trump on Sunday rejected the idea that Musk has taken over the presidency.
The President-elect, speaking at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, pointed to the fact that Musk is ineligible to be commander-in-chief because he was born in South Africa.
“No, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you,” Trump said. “And I’m safe. You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country.”
Al Jazeera quoted Trump as saying that the idea he’s given the presidency to Musk was a “hoax” from his political rivals.
The President-elect also told NBC News that he had spoken to Musk prior to the Tesla CEO’s first posts.
“I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,” Trump said.
Donald Trump Jr on Thursday too pushed back against the notion that Musk is calling the shots.
“You see what the media is trying to do to break up the relationship that my father has with Elon. They’re trying to cause that schism to prevent these guys doing what they’re going to do best, and we cannot allow that,” he was quoted as saying by NBC.
Democrats attack, Republicans push back
Democrats have gone on the attack against the SpaceX CEO – referring to him as ‘President Musk.’
“Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency,” Democratic Representative Robert Garcia of California wrote on X.
As per Axios, Senator Chris Coons, Delaware told CNN he is worried about what Musk’s role “is going to mean.”
Coons also noted that certain provisions in the new bill were changed to favour Musk.
“Given that Tesla has a major new factory in Shanghai, that may actually benefit Elon Musk’s business,” Coons alleged.
“It is extremely alarming that House Republican leadership, at the urging of an unelected billionaire, scrapped a bipartisan, bicameral negotiated funding deal that included this critical provision to protect American jobs and critical capabilities,” Representative Rosa DeLauro wrote in a letter to congressional leaders as per Al Jazeera.
But Karoline Leavitt, the incoming White House press secretary, pushed back against Democratic critics who suggested Musk was calling the shots.
“As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view,” Leavitt said in a statement, referring to the continuing resolution. “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.”
As per Axios, Hagerty too rebuffed the Democrats’ claims that Musk is in charge.
Hagerty said Trump is “clearly the leader” of the Republican Party.
Musk’s influence “doesn’t bother me a bit,” Haggerty added.
He said he is “appreciative of the fact that President Trump has that type of talent available to advise him.”
It remains to be seen how long the Trump-Musk bromance will last.
With inputs from agencies
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