(Headline USA) Donald Trump headed to Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday to watch one of Elon Musk’s companies test its Starship rocket, the latest sign of a deepening bond between the president-elect and the world’s richest man.
Tuesday’s outing was a remarkable display of intimacy between the two, one with implications for American politics, the U.S. government, foreign policy and even the possibility of humans reaching Mars.
“Good luck to Elon Musk and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project!” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media website, while en route to Texas.
Musk spent around $200 million to help Trump beat Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential race, and he’s been given unparalleled access.
He’s counseled Trump on nominees for the new administration, joined the president-elect’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and been tapped to co-chair an advisory panel on cutting the size of the federal bureaucracy.
Musk also joined Trump at a meeting with House Republicans in Washington and sat next to him at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match in New York. The trip to Texas for the rocket launch was Trump’s third time outside Florida since the election.
Democrats—including presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton—have frequently been swayed by their billionaire friends toward particular political outcomes, such as the interests of BlackRock and George Soros in waging war in Ukraine.
For Trump, though, who often finds himself the wealthiest man in the room and has been able largely to maintain his political independence through self-financing, Musk’s support and friendship are something of a novelty. His visionary influence in arenas such as artificial intelligence, green energy and space travel could turn Trump’s already transformative presidency into an inflection point for humanity.
In addition to political influence, Musk could benefit personally as well. SpaceX, his rocket company, has billions of dollars in government contracts and the goal of eventually starting a colony on Mars.
He’s also CEO of Tesla, which manufactures electric vehicles, and has battled with the Biden administration’s partisan regulators over safety concerns involving autonomous driving.
To top if off, Musk owns the social media company X, formally known as Twitter, which he has harnessed as an influential perch to promote Trump and his agenda, countering the leftist echo chamber that dominates much of social media, mainstream media, Hollywood and elsewhere.
“Stop the Swamp!” Musk wrote on Tuesday as he shared a warning that entrenched Washington interests were trying to undermine Trump before his inauguration.
Before the election, Musk rejected the idea that he was expecting any favors in return for supporting Trump in the presidential race.
“There is no quid pro quo,” he posted on X in September. “With a Trump administration, we can execute major government reform, remove bureaucratic paperwork that is smothering the country and unlock a new age of prosperity.”
Yeah, I am not expecting any favors. There is no quid pro quo.
With a Trump administration, we can execute major government reform, remove bureaucratic paperwork that is smothering the country and unlock a new age of prosperity.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 30, 2024
The relationship between Trump and Musk was not always so close.
Two years ago, Trump was mocking Musk in stump speeches and Musk was saying it was time for Trump to “hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.”
Trump Rips Elon Musk: "Another Bullsh*t Artist" pic.twitter.com/kiuGp7xTEu
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 11, 2022
“Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America,” Musk wrote on social media.
Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America.
If DeSantis runs against Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will easily win – he doesn’t even need to campaign.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022
But Musk gradually became more critical of the Biden administration and the radical leftist movement that had consumed the Democrat party, and he ultimately found that Trump’s conservative movement was much more welcoming to the ideas of classical liberalism, while the modern left has become increasingly authoritarian.
He swiftly endorsed Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt in July and became a central figure in Trump’s orbit, appearing at times more like his running mate than Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Trump started boasting about Musk’s accomplishments at campaign rallies, such as when Starship’s reusable rocket booster returned to the launch tower and was caught by mechanical arms.
“Those arms grab it like you grab your baby, just like you grab your little baby. And it hugged it and just put it down, and there it was,” Trump said.
Musk was with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort on election night and has spent much of the two weeks since there.
Trump’s granddaughter Kai Trump posted a photo of her with Musk at one of Trump’s golf resorts, writing that Musk was “achieving uncle status.”
Last week, Musk appeared in a golden ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, seated in the center of the room as a guest of honor at an event. Trump, in his remarks at the black tie event, said Musk’s IQ is “about as high as they can get” and praised him as “a really good guy.”
“He launched a rocket three weeks ago and then he went to Pennsylvania to campaign because he considered this more important than launching rockets that cost billions of dollars,” Trump said.
He joked about Musk’s constant presence at Mar-a-Lago, saying, “He likes this place. I can’t get him out of here.”
He added, “And you know what, I like having him here.”
Musk was so heralded by Trump’s crowd that he was invited to speak on stage at the event after Trump, in which he spoke of the president-elect’s victory like he was his running mate.
“The public has given us a mandate that could not be more clear,” Musk said of the election results.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
