A Billionaire and A Buffon Join Forces 

Technology Policy #119 | By: Mindy Spatt | October 28, 2024

Featured Photo: foxnews.com

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It’s easy to laugh at Elon Musk’s childish dance onstage with Trump and even easier to laugh at Trump’s moves, especially when they replace an actual campaign speech. The comedy shows have been having a field day with the antics of the two, but the combination is more frightening than funny.  Both are unhinged; one has unlimited money, and the other is on the brink of having unlimited power.   

Analysis 

Elon Musk has put himself, his money, and his social media company with 106.23 million subscribers in the US, front and center in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.  Frank Bruni, writing in the New York Times, put it this way:  Musk, who turned X into a digital Trump pep rally … is essentially cartwheeling across Pennsylvania with fistfuls of money for anyone with any inkling to vote for the madman of Mar-a-Lago.”    

The Musk/Trump axis of evil also caught the attention of Le Monde, which recently editorialized: “Little by little, the social media network has been transformed into an informal mouthpiece for the Republican candidate.”  A recent look at my “for you” tab on Twitter confirms this.  Although I only subscribe to liberal media and politicians, what X has for me includes: 

This little Chinese woman got me fired up “Kamawa is sooooo Stoopid”  

@MJTruthUltra 

Voter ID should be required nationwide 

@elonmusk 

BREAKING: Total Air & Plumbing just sent their entire company to the polls to vote early for Donald Trump. 

@VoteHarrisOut 

HAPPENING NOW: Here is footage of the historic line at the Madison Square garden in New York City where Trump will host a rally in 5 hours. This election is over. 

@dom_lucre 

One reason for Musk’s enthusiasm may be that Trump has said as President, he would make Musk head of a government efficiency commission, a role Musk would use to eliminate regulations he views as anti-business, especially his own businesses, which hold many government contracts.   

Not only would Musk have the authority to get rid of regulations, but he also intends to get rid of numerous federal agencies.  He might start with the EPA, which made Musk angry by fining SpaceX $140,000 for illegally dumping water at one of its facilities.    

And what of the former employees of the agencies Musk wants to eliminate?  Trump has gushed over Musk’s brutality with layoffs, which includes not honoring Twitter’s severance agreements with former executives.  Musk instituted mass layoffs at Twitter that purged almost  80% of the workforce, and wholly eliminated the trust and safety teams. 

Trump, in an interview on X with Musk, said, “I look at what you do, you walk in and you just say, ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike – I won’t mention the name of the company – but they go on strike, and you say, ‘That’s okay, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. Every one of you is gone,” Those comments sparked the United Auto Workers to file a complaint against the two for intimidation. 

Another reason for Musk’s enthusiasm is likely the substantial tax benefits he stands to reap from the billionaire cuts Trump has promised.  With a role in the government, he could also see additional tax benefits that certain federal officials can claim.  Although conflict of interest statutes don’t permit government employees from official involvement in companies they have a financial stake in, Trump and others in his administration mostly ignored that rule in the past and will likely do so again. 

Trump and Musk are also aligned in their extremely transphobic views.  Trump’s bizarre rants about sex change operations at schools have a more serious underside; he would eliminate federal funding from schools that teach acceptance and inclusivity, an agenda that Musk, angry about his own child’s transition, is enthusiastic about.  

It’s not hard to imagine how their unholy alliance will react if Trump loses the election.  Constant tweets about election officials cheating, accusations of corruption and collusions, the unlimited number of lawsuits Musk could file, and another armed insurrection.  This time, I’ll know about it in advance if I remember to check my Twitter feed. 

Engagement Resources: 

• How Elon Musk Uses X to Support the Far Right and Its Financial  Interests, By Arnaud Leparmentier August 13, 2024,  https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/08/13/how-elon-musk-uses-x-to-support-the-far-right-and-its-financial-interests_6714673_4.html 
• UAW Files Federal Labor Charges Against Donald Trump And Elon Musk For Attempting To Intimidate And Threaten Workers, August 13, 2024, https://uaw.org/uaw-files-federal-labor-charges-against-donald-trump-and-elon-musk-for-attempting-to-intimidate-and-threaten-workers/ 
• Elon Musk plans a ‘bonfire of nonsense regulations’ By Timothy Cama, Oct. 22, 2024 https://www.eenews.net/articles/elon-musk-plans-a-bonfire-of-nonsense-regulations/ 
• Elon Musk Could Get a Huge Tax Break From Donald Trump, By Katya Schwenk and Lucy Dean Stockton, Oct. 23, 2024 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/elon-musk-trump-tax-break-election-2024-1235141380/ 

   

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