It’s official: United States President Donald Trump and the world’s richest particular person, Elon Musk, have broken up.
On the finish of final month, Musk departed from his put up as the pinnacle of Trump’s Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), the place he oversaw the mass firing of federal staff and dismantling of varied authorities companies – all of the whereas benefitting from his personal corporations’ profitable contracts with the federal government.
Anyway, US “democracy” has by no means met a battle of curiosity it didn’t like.
Musk’s service on the White Home initially appeared to finish on an amicable observe as Trump praised him for the “colossal change” he had achieved “within the outdated methods of doing enterprise in Washington”. The previous head of DOGE in flip thanked the president for the chance.
However quickly after his departure, Musk publicly criticised the “One Massive Stunning Invoice Act”, a tax and spending invoice that Trump is at present obsessive about passing, slamming it as a “disgusting abomination”.
There ensued predictably dramatic social media exchanges between the 2 right-wing billionaires with Trump pronouncing Musk “so depressed and so heartbroken” after leaving the White Home and providing the extra coherent evaluation:
“ It’s type of Trump derangement syndrome. We’ve got it with others, too. They depart, they usually get up within the morning, and the glamour’s gone. The entire world is completely different, they usually turn out to be hostile.”
Musk has repeatedly taken credit score for Trump’s 2024 election victory on account of the gobs of cash he donated to the president’s marketing campaign and people of different Republican candidates. Now that the connection is over, Trump has wasted no time in warning Musk that he’ll face “very critical penalties” if he chooses to fund Democratic campaigns sooner or later.
However some Democratic ears, no less than, have perked up at the opportunity of getting the planet’s richest particular person again on their aspect – which he deserted in favour of Trump after having prolonged help to Democratic former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The political switcheroo was hardly excessive. On the finish of the day, ideology issues little once you’re simply within the enterprise of shopping for energy.
California Congressman Ro Khanna, for instance, just lately opined that Democrats ought to “be in a dialogue” with Musk in mild of their shared opposition to Trump’s large stunning invoice.
As per Khanna’s view, “we should always finally be attempting to persuade [Musk] that the Democratic Get together has extra of the values that he agrees with.” He went on to listing just a few of those alleged values: “A dedication to science funding, a dedication to scrub expertise, a dedication to seeing worldwide college students like him.”
By no means thoughts that Musk’s main “value” is a dedication to controlling as a lot of the earth – to not point out the entire photo voltaic system – as he probably can for the advantage of himself and himself alone. Past his mass firing actions whereas head of DOGE, a quick evaluate of Musk’s entrepreneurial observe document reveals a complete lack of the “values” that Democrats purport to espouse.
Over current years, stories have abounded of sexual harassment and acute racism at Musk’s Tesla automotive factories. In October 2021, a federal jury in San Francisco ordered Tesla to pay $137m to a Black former worker who claimed he was instructed to “return to Africa” amongst different abuses suffered at his office.
Together with violating federal labour legal guidelines, Musk as chief government of Tesla threatened workers over the prospect of unionisation. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, he violated native rules to maintain his factories up and operating, underscoring a common contempt for human life that, once more, shouldn’t be a “worth” that anybody aspires to.
To make sure, not all Democrats are on board with the proposal to woo Musk again into the Democratic camp – however he could also be getting a rising cheering squad. Along with Khanna’s advocacy on his behalf, New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres appears ready to provide Musk his vote as nicely: “I’m a believer in redemption, and he’s telling the reality in regards to the [big beautiful] laws.”
Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former White Home director of communications, has, in the meantime, suggested that Democrats might “convey Elon Musk again into the fold as a prodigal son” by foregoing extra left-wing insurance policies – as if there’s something actually left-wing in regards to the Democratic Get together within the first place.
Newsweek’s write-up of Scaramucci’s feedback noticed that “It might be a coup for Democrats if they may courtroom the affect of the world’s richest man as soon as extra.” It might not, clearly, be a coup for democracy, which is meant to be rule by the individuals and never by cash.
And but a longstanding bipartisan dedication to plutocracy means the US has by no means been in peril of true democracy. As an alternative, billions upon billions of {dollars} are spent to maintain an electoral charade and make sure that capital stays concentrated within the arms of the few – whereas People proceed to literally die of poverty.
Now it stays to be seen whether or not the Trump-Musk breakup will drive Democrats into Musk’s arms. However both means, the nation’s plutocratic values stay rock stable – and that’s nothing lower than a “disgusting abomination”.
The views expressed on this article are the creator’s personal and don’t essentially mirror Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
