Musk and Trump are enemies made for each other – united in their ability to trash their own brands | Jonathan Freedland

R.It is Trump’s script book: soap opera slides. The last development of a plot-the epic fall between the title of the title and its best friend, Elon Musk It was predicted, and he actually expected, that it is considered the opposite of development. However, the surprise can be exaggerated. Watching the two men-one of them is the richest in the world, and the other is stronger-working on each other in a series of repeated poisonous publications on their social media platforms, was entertainment from the highest demand. XV truth: it can be Marvel.

But this is more than just popcorn feed. Even if they were Ultimately correct thingsThe rift between the president and the musk has revealed a lack of the contemporary right, in the United States and outside – and a fatal defect of the Trump project.

Of course, a lot of it is personal. For this reason, many announced from the start that this was Stars Romance, whose fate was just a sorrow. until Musk was announcingIn February, “I love Realdonaldtrump as much as a straight man can love another man,” he knew more wise heads that he is convicted. The vanity was very large, as the narcissism was very strong, alive to survive. In the Trump world, as in the musk galaxy, there is room for only one sun.

In their case, he combines the character with works. In this reading, Musa’s disappointment began in his pocket, or his opposition to the “Trump Grand Bill”, or “BBB”, is currently in front of Congress, Mainly Under the breakdown of a $ 7500 tax credit when purchasing electric cars. As Tesla sales decreased, Musk needed this incentive to attract potential Tesla customers and was angry at Trump to rid him. This is definitely the story Trump says. “I picked up his mandate EV, which forced everyone to buy electric cars, no one else wanted … and he became crazy!” Trump published.

The proposal seems to be the motive of Musk’s leadership, a profit, had a billionaire, which led him to call until the previous isolated and To demand this Trump was named in Jeffrey Epstein files, in fact, the president was involved in the child’s nationality episode. Musk wants to submit his objection not to serve the self but it is ideological, as he casts himself as a terrible financial conservative from Trump “A disgusting abomination” From the bill because it will increase the massive American deficit by a trillion dollars.

Who is the correct? It seems that he could argue that Trump’s hostility to electric cars was the problem: as Trump pointed out himself, Musk knew this when he jumped on the Maga train last year. As for the assembly of deficit, you can see why it would irritate musk. The addition of trillion in the red ink is mocking the “Cost reduction” campaign that it directs with the so -called government efficiency.

The billionaire was already smart of Dog’s failure to cut anything like 2 you see spending A promise will be easy. All that he succeeded in doing, for example, to feed the United States Agency for International Development, or the United States Agency for International Development, to “”Wooden cat“He took the lives of 300,000 people, most of whom were children, who relied on that agency and granting it, according to Boston University study. Even if you are thinking, from the lawyer, to accept your own appreciation, it is about the federal budget only about 150 billion dollars. To see this effort was canceled by a $ 600 billion tax reduction for people who earn more than one year, it will be an insult.

Whatever the real reason, Trump Musk’s stamps have been fed in right-not only in the United States. It was beaten and calm by the Trump phenomenon, there are still a few governors of the old school and have an archaeological presence in the Senate, which remains a financial rectangle for faith. While the Democrats “BBB” opposes because the discounts in Medicaid will be deprived More than 10 million Americans are a basic healthy cover, these traditional Republicans are risks similar to Liz Trussels, a huge, funded tax gift. Overnight, musk has become their hero.

Rann against them is the national province, which is embodied by the former Trump strategy and former League Steve Bannon. They do not have a minimum of liberation than a state; On the contrary, they love the muscular offers of state power. a witness Trump’s insistence On a military procession in Pyongyang to celebrate its birthday, and noticed that Pannon’s response to the trick of musk in the ruler’s challenge-called to musk companies, Starlink and Spacex, To be a believer. In fact, the national province may not be the right term for what Bannon offers: National Socialism may be more appropriate, although something is close to that has already been done.

There were other manifestations of this gap. Musk Trump definitions; Bannon is for them. Musk wanted to see the United States open High skills immigrants and technology; Bannon wants to close the door on them. These, then, are the two camps. (You can see similar error lines on the British right, and the Conservative Department of Tatharit from UK Reform.) For a while, DEI anti-policy hatred was strong enough to maintain opposition-free blocs and protection; Falcous deficit and big hypocrites – together. But this glue, as Trump said about musk, “wears thin.”

Which has some serious effects on American policy And the presidency of Trump. It is imagined that Trump will not have the necessary numbers to pass this draft law, its central legislative goal, in its current form: the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is a chip, and another Republican can sink the proposal in the Senate. Musk gave the cover of potential dissidents. Gazillionaire has promised great spending to help Republicans in the mid -term elections in November 2026. Many can happen from time to time, but Trump may now need to search elsewhere for a sponsor. Who knows, Musk may continue his threat to fund the opponents of the Democrats. Even if it does not go to this extent, it controls a major platform from the right: X can become a hostile area for Trump. The important point is that musk is not the usual Trump opponent. He has loud loudspeakers, more money than the president.

All this adds to a sad story of two men who had previously had a lot of common denominators – perhaps one thing above all. Each of them was lucky enough to find themselves responsible for a trademark that once admired and universal separations – and every man systematically started activating that brand in the eyes of the world. Musk did it more than once. He bought what has become an unlikely place to meet some of the most influential people on the planet, Twitter, and turned it into raids of intolerance and lies, X.

Meanwhile, Trump took the United States once a magnet for talent from all over the world, and made his best to dismantle everything that made it attractive: stabilizing, protecting it from freedom of expression, independence of its institutions, quality of its sciences and universities. This week’s movements – travel banDrinks of students abroad, the war on Harvard – nothing about the continuous hostility of Democratic allies and the coding of foreign dictators, is just the latest Trump’s most recent cases that MUSK did on Twitter and Tesla. No wonder that Trump and Musk have separated: they were always both.

• Jonathan Friedland is a guardian writer

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