Chris Christie Predicts Messy End to Trump-Musk Bromance: Trump Confidants All Have a ‘Shelf Life’
Chris Christie, a former ally to President-elect Donald Trump, predicted Elon Musk would soon discover that all of Trump’s closest confidantes have a “shelf life” and the tech CEO would find himself on the outside looking in.
Musk endorsed Trump’s third White House bid and has spent much of the transition alongside him. The billionaire has also been tapped to run Trump’s cost-cutting pseudo agency the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), alongside venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also joined Trump last week to help sink a government funding bill that has become a political crisis for House Speaker Mike Johnson.
On ABC’s This Week on Sunday, network anchor Jonathan Karl probed Christie about Musk’s influence in the following exchange:
KARL: How much influence does he really have on Trump? How much is he steering what Trump’s been doing?
CHRISTIE: In the beginning, I think anybody who plays this role for Trump, and you can go through the last eight years, Jon, and there have been different people who have played this exact role for Trump. It’s different because it’s Elon Musk. But when you initially begin in that role, you have enormous influence. And he loves having you around and he loves listening to you, and you’re the best thing in the world. It will always decline. And that’s what happens. And you’ll see it. It will happen with Elon Musk, too. I used to say this to General Kelly when he first became chief of staff, today you’re trading at 100 cents on the dollar. You will trade at zero. The question is, how long it will take?
KARL: Yes, he – certainly the case with Kelly. So, that’s the question everybody is asking, how long does Musk last? I’ve heard some people say he’s going to be with him at least through the midterms because he’s going to be such a force in funding the Republican campaigns, but how long do you think – when does this end?
CHRISTIE: It ends when Trump believes that something has gone wrong, and he needs someone to blame and Musk becomes the person to blame. And no one knows how long that will take. You know, look, our colleague, Reince Priebus, it was five months, and then he was gone. General Kelly, it was 18 months. You know, the people who sit at the very center with Trump have a shelf life, and that shelf life is influenced by outside events, as Speaker Johnson is finding out right now. This is a guy who’s done everything Trump’s asked him to do. He’s essentially gotten down on one knee to Trump on a regular basis, and now, we have this problem this week. You watch. Trump will run from him because that’s what he does.
Watch above via ABC News.
