The political environment over the next four years is likely to be miserable, but there’s one thing we can consistently extract some schadenfreude from: the falling out between Trump and his sycophants. Only one member of Trump’s previous cabinet, Nikki Haley, endorsed him (and has hilariously already been shut out of the second term), and there’s a reason for that: Trump is a toxic, impossible person to work for. It’s not just the cabinet; he went through advisors and hangers-on with a rapid rotation, burning them out months or even weeks. Maybe only two people have been with him since the beginning: Jason Miller, who couldn’t get hired at a Trader Joe’s, and Stephen Miller, who’s fueled by a lifetime of insecurity and self-hatred, with nowhere else to go because his own family doesn’t like him.
Trump is the kind of guy who requires handling. To get something done, you not only have to convince him it’s his idea but also let him take full credit. This approach definitely won’t work with certain personalities—two in particular are Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk.
Musk contributed $150 million to the Trump campaign, took credit for its ground game, and likely believes he was instrumental in Trump’s victory. He’s going to expect a lot in return, and Trump might give it to him — if Musk can manage him. But Musk’s ego is too big; he wants the credit. He’s already inserting himself into phone calls with foreign leaders, pushing into personnel decisions, and basically showing up for dinner at Mar-a-Lago every night, wearing out his welcome.
People at Tesla, X, and SpaceX must love this because Musk seems like the kind of boss you placate while actually doing the work that needs to be done, not the work Musk thinks should be done. He’s that boss who walks into the room and stresses everyone out.
Now he appears to have planted himself at Mar-a-Lago, insisting on weighing in on every decision. From The Daily Beast:
Other commentators have noted that Musk’s persistent presence at the resort over the past few days appears to be unnerving some members of Trump’s transition team, who have reportedly already come to view the tech tycoon as something of the “guest who wouldn’t leave” after the party.
“He definitely inserts himself all the time, that’s his style,” tech journalist Kara Swisher told CNN on Monday morning. “I’ve heard from Trump people calling me saying, ‘Oh, wow. This is odd.’ And it is.”
As Swisher further notes, “They’re both narcissists, and there can be only one narcissist as head of the country, and that’s Donald Trump. Trump goes through people like tissues, essentially. And even if it’s Musk, they’re going to clash at some point.”
This whole situation recalls that Ben Folds Five song, “Steven’s Last Night,” where he keeps saying every night will be his last night in town. I would be surprised if the relationship between Trump and Musk isn’t completely frayed by Inauguration Day. And if the two are eventually pitted against one another? Look out.
As always, a header image of Lee Pace is used in lieu of Elon Musk for aesthetic reasons, and with apologies to Lee Pace.