How Long Will Trump’s Friendship with Elon Musk Last?
Published in Der Standard
(Austria) on 19 December 2024
by Manuel Escher (link to original)
(Austria) on 19 December 2024
by Manuel Escher (link to original)
Translated from
by Mallory Matsumoto.
Edited by Michelle Bisson.
Via X, Elon Musk causes the downfall of a planned compromise on the federal budget and pushes Donald Trump along. Maybe it's a taste of what’s to come.
Is he being put out to pasture? Or is he in an influential position exempt from the congressional accountability that applies to government offices? Many asked themselves these questions when Donald Trump and Elon Musk introduced the “Department of Government Efficiency” that the tech billionaire is set to lead.
Named after the internet meme “Doge”— it started as a cute dog picture that was an unpolitical source of joy — the organization seems to be a harmless creation. But its mission is grim. Among other things, it is supposed to identify constitutional provisions that should be deleted and government offices that are to be eliminated, targeting for dismissal people who remain loyal to the Constitution rather than to Trump’s plans.
Now Musk has intervened in another issue and torpedoed a political compromise on provisional financing for the government. Whether he did so in Trump’s name is unclear. Instead, it seems more like he pushed the president-elect along via social media.
It may just be a few difficult weeks for many officials; a solution to fund the government will eventually be found. But DOGE is here to stay. Even now, AI images are popping up online that show Musk instead of Trump being sworn in as president, or even Trump on the billionaire’s leash.
The partnership between the most powerful, wealthiest men in the world seems to be advantageous to both. But will Trump’s ego continue to play along with such images? The relationship will continue to be a source of tension.
Is he being put out to pasture? Or is he in an influential position exempt from the congressional accountability that applies to government offices? Many asked themselves these questions when Donald Trump and Elon Musk introduced the “Department of Government Efficiency” that the tech billionaire is set to lead.
Named after the internet meme “Doge”— it started as a cute dog picture that was an unpolitical source of joy — the organization seems to be a harmless creation. But its mission is grim. Among other things, it is supposed to identify constitutional provisions that should be deleted and government offices that are to be eliminated, targeting for dismissal people who remain loyal to the Constitution rather than to Trump’s plans.
Now Musk has intervened in another issue and torpedoed a political compromise on provisional financing for the government. Whether he did so in Trump’s name is unclear. Instead, it seems more like he pushed the president-elect along via social media.
It may just be a few difficult weeks for many officials; a solution to fund the government will eventually be found. But DOGE is here to stay. Even now, AI images are popping up online that show Musk instead of Trump being sworn in as president, or even Trump on the billionaire’s leash.
The partnership between the most powerful, wealthiest men in the world seems to be advantageous to both. But will Trump’s ego continue to play along with such images? The relationship will continue to be a source of tension.
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