AP Photo/Alex Brandon
The world’s richest man has emerged as arguably the second most powerful political player in the most powerful country in the world.
Elon Musk endorsed President-elect Donald Trump after the unsuccessful attempt on his life in Pennsylvania this summer, and from that point on, he not only spent enormous sums of money, but expended an enormous amount of energy on getting him elected.
And ever since Trump’s triumph last week, the pair have apparently been inseparable. During his victory speech, the newly-minted president-elect called Musk “an amazing guy,” and a “super genius.” Then he appointed Musk to head up the new, amorphous, but potentially effectual Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Reports also indicate that Musk is playing a notable role in Trump’s transition, attending “nearly every meeting” Trump is as well as earning his personal affection and trust.
“He likes this place. I can’t get him out of here! He just likes this place. And you know what? I like having him here, too” declared Trump at an event at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday night.
Musk, meanwhile, has indicated that he intends to remain active in Republican politics for the foreseeable future.
“Normally, PACs go somewhat dormant after a big election,” he wrote on X earlier this week. “@America PAC is going to do the opposite and keep grinding, increasing Republican registrations in key districts around the country, in preparation for special elections and the midterms.”
“And, of course, play a significant role in primaries,” added Musk.
Musk has been shunned by the left for a variety of reasons — some understandable, others characteristically unreasonable. And electorally, his swing to the right has been a major boon to the GOP
There is nothing inherently wrong with the world’s richest man feeling ready, willing, and motivated toward electing Republicans. Indeed, as this past cycle showed, it could be a great boon to the GOP for a long time to come.
Still, conservatives should be wary of Musk’s influence on their chosen political vessel.
Because while the billionaire entrepreneur might have the right instincts on some issues — including on transgender radicalism and runaway regulation — he also has the decidedly wrong ones on others.
His directionally promising opposition to the excesses of the left often lead him to trod down troubling paths. There was that time he agreed “that Jewish communties [sic] have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” And the time he spread fake news about illegal immigrants casting ballots. And his adoption of Russian Government talking points about its war on Ukraine.
These examples, dear reader, are just a few of many.
Similarly, Musk’s view of China — the United States’ number one geopolitical foe — is colored by his business interests there.
He’s signed onto a letter pledging to abide by China’s “core socialist values,” suggested that Taiwan should be under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party, and mused that there were “two sides” to the Uyghur genocide.
Dangerously naive or self-interested? You be the judge.
With the notoriously transactional Trump at the helm for at least the next four years and his imprint on the Republican Party sure to last for a long time to come, Musk is likely to exercise a disproportionate amount of influence on the levers of power within the GOP and, for now, the federal government. Moreover, his status as “the nation’s foremost culture warrior,” as National Review‘s Rich Lowry has crowned him, affords him the kind of sway with the rank-and-file that other big-dollar donors could only dream of.
But for those in its coalition whose principal concern remains using conservative principles to steer the party and country, his word shouldn’t be taken as gospel
Remember, he’s the one who joined the party, not the one who threw it.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
