What Was Elon Thinking? (Opinion)

By Elliot Resnick

What possible benefit did Elon Musk think would come from his anti-Trump tirade on X last week?

By claiming the Jeffrey Epstein file contains incriminating evidence on Donald Trump, he essentially destroyed any influence he had among MAGA Republicans.  Not because Trump supporters worship him blindly but because they don’t look fondly on people who stab Trump in the back.

For seven months, Musk virtually idolized the president.  He lived in Mar-a-Lago.  He told Sean Hannity in February that he never once saw Trump “do something that was mean or cruel or wrong” in all the time he spent with him.  Musk supported nearly every Trump policy since Election Day.

And then because of one bill – one bill – that raises the national debt too high for Musk’s taste, he spreads salacious and damning “inside information” about Trump to the entire country?

Nothing excuses this behavior.

And it wasn’t even necessary.  Musk had direct access to Trump and every other major decision maker in the administration.  He could have called them privately and lobbied for less spending in the bill.

If he felt compelled to make his opposition public, he could have done so in a more subtle fashion – as he did two weeks ago.  He told CBS in an interview, “I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful.  But I don’t know if it could be both.”  He also said, “I’m in a little stuck in a bind where…I don’t want to, you know, speak up against the administration, but…I also don’t want to take responsibility for everything the administration is doing.”

Everyone watching that CBS interview understood where Musk stood on the bill.  His opposition was unstated but clear.  His statements were both respectful and effective.

Musk could have – and should have – stopped there.  But no.  Instead he drops the equivalent of a nuclear bomb on Trump.  On a man he once said he didn’t think he could possibly love more.  Why?  What in heaven’s name possessed him?

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised.  I already knew Musk wasn’t a moral paragon by the number of women he’s impregnated – and then evidently ignored once he grew tired of them.  Many conservatives, including me, gave him a pass when Ashley St. Clair – his third “baby mama” – announced that Musk wouldn’t return her phone calls.  But perhaps I shouldn’t have.  Perhaps I should have taken more seriously the argument of social conservatives that one’s behavior in the bedroom is inextricably tied to one’s behavior in the political arena.

In any event, I’m glad in a way that Musk decided to “go nuclear” on Trump.  If he had kept his criticism within reason, he may have helped kill this bill, which – although bloated – provides massive tax cuts, eliminates taxes on tips, eliminates taxes on overtime, funds the border wall, funds the Golden Dome, repeals DEI mandates, requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote, raises the endowment tax for large universities, and bans federal funding of transgender surgery for minors.  Now, with his brutal attack on Trump, Musk has sabotaged his influence with everyone but the Never Trump crowd.

Musk of course can still cause some hiccups, and the bill will likely undergo revisions.  But, thanks to his outburst last week, the bill will ultimately pass.  So thank you, Elon.

Elliot Resnick, PhD, is the former chief editor of The Jewish Press, a podcast host, and the author and/or editor of 10 books, including In a World Gone Mad: An Appeal for Sane Thinking on Israel, Trump, War & More. He is also the creator of a new writing course: “Ten Tips to Drastically Improve Your Writing.” Follow him on X at @ResnickElliot.