Trump’s chief of staff worried about 'shadow president' Musk leading him 'by the nose': analysis

24 December 2024

When House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was making a last-minute effort to get a spending bill passed and avoid a federal government shutdown, billionaire Elon Musk threatened primary challenges against any GOP lawmakers who voted for a bill he didn't like.

Some Democrats, in response, mockingly referred to the Tesla/SpaceX CEO as "President Musk." The actual president-elect, Donald Trump — who is proposing a new advisory committee that would be called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and headed by Musk and MAGA businessman Vivek Ramaswamy — didn't appreciate that at all.

Speaking at a Turning Point USA event, Trump told the MAGA crowd, "No, he's not going to be president, that I can tell you. And I'm safe. You know why he can't be? He wasn't born in this country."

But Salon's Amanda Marcotte, in a biting article published on December 24, argues that Musk has been acting like a "shadow president" — and that Musk has been leading the "aging and tired" Trump around "by the nose."

"Most importantly, the process thoroughly exposed Musk's hold over Trump," Marcotte emphasizes. "Democrats started the 'President Musk' meme, and, predictably, Trump's narcissism has led to defensiveness. First, Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt put out a statement insisting, 'President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.'"

By describing the Tesla CEO as "President Musk," Marcotte writes, Democrats are "accusing Musk of being the true power behind the throne."

One of the Democrats who has had a lot to say about Musk is progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York City.

In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter — which Musk owns — AOC said, "When Elon tweets something and when Trump tweets something…. Republicans don't know who their daddy is. They don't know which one they need to be listening to first."

AOC went on to say that Musk "poses real political problems for Trump" and "arguably…. may rival his power and influence."

Marcotte observes, "It appears Trump's nominee for chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is aware it's bad news to let Musk worm his way into being the shadow president. Despite all the mainstream media hype after Trump created 'DOGE' — the Department of Government Efficiency — cooler heads noticed that this Musk-led initiative is not a real government agency, but a 'presidential advisory committee.'"

The Salon journalist argues that Republicans, after "having spent years kowtowing to Trump's narcissism" are now "turning their practice towards lavish public obsequiousness to Musk."

"No telling how this all plays out," Marcotte writes, "except that it will be chaotic."

Amanda Marcotte's full article for Salon is available at this link.

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