Elon Musk’s Downfall

As most are no doubt already aware, yesterday Elon Musk broke his silence about the “big, beautiful” spending bill that is currently wending its way through a Republican Congress. Calling it a “disgusting abomination,” he added, “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.” This bill, of course, is likely to end up being the primary legislative accomplishment of Donald Trump’s first year back in office. He pushed the House Republican caucus furiously to get it across the finish line there, to the point where its passage by a few votes felt — despite the seeming last-minute drama of it all — a bit like scripted kabuki theater.

One can only imagine how unhappy the Trump administration is with this, especially since several Senate lawmakers have used the opportunity afforded by Elon’s apostasy to poke their heads out from behind his protective skirt and chip in with their own reservations. (Profiles in cowardice, nearly all of them, with Rand Paul as a notable exception.) The Trump administration has, as of this writing at least, held its fire — uncharacteristic when a former ally directly criticizes it. It’s easy enough to grasp why in this case: Nobody wants to anger the world’s richest man, especially when he also happens to own and control the world’s most relevant social media site. Perhaps Trump may just let Elon stew online, rather than provoke a MAGA civil war. Perhaps not. Regardless of whether fireworks follow, this was always the way the story was going to end.

About the Author

Jeffrey Blehar

Jeffrey Blehar is a National Review staff writer living in Chicago. He is also the co-host of National Review’s Political Beats podcast, which explores the great music of the modern era with guests from the political world happy to find something non-political to talk about.

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As most are no doubt already aware, yesterday Elon Musk broke his silence about the “big, beautiful” spending bill that is currently wending its way through a Republican Congress. Calling it a “disgusting abomination,” he added, “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.” This bill, of course, is likely to end up being the primary legislative accomplishment of Donald Trump’s first year back in office. He pushed the House Republican caucus furiously to get it across the finish line there, to the point where its passage by a few votes felt — despite the seeming last-minute drama of it all — a bit like scripted kabuki theater.

One can only imagine how unhappy the Trump administration is with this, especially since several Senate lawmakers have used the opportunity afforded by Elon’s apostasy to poke their heads out from behind his protective skirt and chip in with their own reservations. (Profiles in cowardice, nearly all of them, with Rand Paul as a notable exception.) The Trump administration has, as of this writing at least, held its fire — uncharacteristic when a former ally directly criticizes it. It’s easy enough to grasp why in this case: Nobody wants to anger the world’s richest man, especially when he also happens to own and control the world’s most relevant social media site. Perhaps Trump may just let Elon stew online, rather than provoke a MAGA civil war. Perhaps not. Regardless of whether fireworks follow, this was always the way the story was going to end.

About the Author

Jeffrey Blehar

Jeffrey Blehar is a National Review staff writer living in Chicago. He is also the co-host of National Review’s Political Beats podcast, which explores the great music of the modern era with guests from the political world happy to find something non-political to talk about.