Two male betta fish can’t share a tank, for fears of them being extremely territorial and aggressive to the purpose of 1’s demise. The White Home might be poised for the same showdown, projected Silicon Valley journalist and writer Kara Swisher. In her estimation, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and newly re-elected President Donald Trump may be headed for a fallout based mostly on their personalities.
“They’re each narcissists and there might be just one narcissist as head of the nation and that’s Donald Trump, who simply received the election,” Swisher, who claimed to “know Elon very nicely,” mentioned to CNN.
“Elon Musk and President Trump are nice buddies and good leaders working collectively to Make America Nice Once more,” Trump-Vance Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt instructed Fortune in a press release. “Elon Musk is a as soon as in a technology enterprise chief and our federal forms will definitely profit from his concepts and effectivity.” Musk didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
A partnership at a worth
The duo has change into very buddy-buddy all through Trump’s marketing campaign path. Musk arrange $1 million sweepstakes for individuals who signed a petition by American PAC, although he was later sued by misled voters who discovered the winners had been allegedly not randomly chosen. His tremendous PAC backing Trump spent about $200 million in supporting the candidate, a supply instructed the Related Press. Musk alone is claimed to have spent greater than $130 million bolstering Trump.
“Elon is operating the bottom sport for the Republicans,” Billionaire Mark Cuban mentioned in a press release to Fortune. In fact, Musk has vested curiosity in a friendship with Trump, too. Tesla inventory spiked after the election, although has since cooled off.
Musk’s standing because the richest man on this planet is probably going a plus in Trump’s eyes, mentioned Swisher. . “In fact, Trump’s interested in the wealth and the glamor round Elon Musk,” Swisher mentioned, including, “I suppose it’s glamor. I don’t fairly know what it’s, nerd glamor.”
“A star is born—Elon,” Trump mentioned of Musk the night time he was elected, based on the AP. Sadly for Musk, some stars burn out quick.
Trump and Musk, maybe not finest buddies eternally
Barely every week after Trump’s election, it seems as if Musk’s method is already rubbing some staffers the improper means.
“He undoubtedly inserts himself on a regular basis. That’s his type, that’s why he’s simply abruptly proven up there just like the visitor that wouldn’t go away,” Swisher mentioned of Musk. She instructed CNN that she’s heard from Trump individuals of Musk’s presence already, saying “Oh wow, that is odd.” Swisher assured them that they’re more likely to see extra the place that got here from.
Swisher famous that she’s “instructed that whoever the final individual within the room is for Trump usually has management of him” and that he “goes by means of individuals like tissues, primarily.”
Noting that each Trump and Musk are “actually sturdy personalities who wish to be the focal point,” Swisher painted an image of a shot clock on their partnership. Every part is about affect for Musk, she added, explaining that he’ll probably be “exerting as a lot affect as potential within the first important days.”
However Musk’s presence isn’t more likely to sit nicely with fellow attention-seeker Trump, she mentioned. Regardless that Trump “owes issues to Elon,” the connection might go south if “he takes an excessive amount of of the eye,” she famous, pointing to how Steven Bannon was edged out after he was on the duvet of {a magazine}.
It stays to be seen whether or not Trump and Musk can maintain their relationship with out it backfiring. “They’re going to conflict sooner or later,” mentioned Swisher.
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