Elon Musk joined Trump on Capitol Hill for a meeting with Republicans—and the president-elect used the opportunity to ridicule the richest man in the world.
Donald Trump is already turning some of his key allies into punchlines, including Elon Musk.
During his first meeting with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill as president-elect, Trump asserted dominance by joking about Musk’s persistent presence.
“Elon won’t go home. I can’t get rid of him,” Trump said on Wednesday. “Until I don’t like him.”
According to CNN, Musk has reportedly spent “nearly every single day” of the past week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, joining the president-elect for golf, dinners with Melania, and even sitting in on calls with world leaders like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell highlighted that Trump’s comments were a demonstration of his power, delivered to a room that felt compelled to play along.
“Everyone laughed,” O’Donnell said. “It was that uncomfortable laughter. But they laugh when Trump jokes about someone on his team—a joke that everyone knows is true, a joke that paints that person as weak, just as Trump’s sense of superiority demands.”
O’Donnell also pointed out that Musk’s new government role—co-leading the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, dubbed “DOGE”—seemed almost satirical, describing it as a position with minimal real authority, akin to a lobbyist’s.
Musk could benefit from his close connection with Trump, whose opinions are infamously influenced by his most recent interactions. Yet tech journalist Kara Swisher predicted that their alliance is bound to collapse.
“They’re both narcissists, and there can only be one dominant narcissist running the country, and that’s Trump, who just won the election,” Swisher said on Monday. “Trump may owe Musk, but if Musk takes too much of the spotlight—just look at Steve Bannon. He was once on a magazine cover, integral to Trump’s campaign and inside the White House, and then he was gone.
“Trump goes through people like tissues,” Swisher added. “Even if it’s Musk, a clash is inevitable.”
Donald Trump is already turning some of his key allies into punchlines, including Elon Musk.
During his first meeting with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill as president-elect, Trump asserted dominance by joking about Musk’s persistent presence.
“Elon won’t go home. I can’t get rid of him,” Trump said on Wednesday. “Until I don’t like him.”
According to CNN, Musk has reportedly spent “nearly every single day” of the past week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, joining the president-elect for golf, dinners with Melania, and even sitting in on calls with world leaders like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell highlighted that Trump’s comments were a demonstration of his power, delivered to a room that felt compelled to play along.
“Everyone laughed,” O’Donnell said. “It was that uncomfortable laughter. But they laugh when Trump jokes about someone on his team—a joke that everyone knows is true, a joke that paints that person as weak, just as Trump’s sense of superiority demands.”
O’Donnell also pointed out that Musk’s new government role—co-leading the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, dubbed “DOGE”—seemed almost satirical, describing it as a position with minimal real authority, akin to a lobbyist’s.
Musk could benefit from his close connection with Trump, whose opinions are infamously influenced by his most recent interactions. Yet tech journalist Kara Swisher predicted that their alliance is bound to collapse.
“They’re both narcissists, and there can only be one dominant narcissist running the country, and that’s Trump, who just won the election,” Swisher said on Monday. “Trump may owe Musk, but if Musk takes too much of the spotlight—just look at Steve Bannon. He was once on a magazine cover, integral to Trump’s campaign and inside the White House, and then he was gone.
“Trump goes through people like tissues,” Swisher added. “Even if it’s Musk, a clash is inevitable.”
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