Two Billionaires and a Big, Beautiful, Brawl

The world’s most powerful man is brawling very publicly with the world’s richest. Up until about a minute ago, they were best bros. Now they’re accusing each other of ingratitude, betrayal, and worse.

U.S. President Donald Trump gave tech mogul Elon Musk—of Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, and X (formerly Twitter) and more—unprecedented access in return for Musk’s lavish support, both financially and in terms of mobilizing and influencing a movement of broad and sometimes incongruous coalition of populists, conservatives, and even some libertarians, all pushing back against heavy-handed “social justice” preoccupations of the political left, and, most importantly, the perceived (possibly real) stranglehold of the Washington establishment, the so-called “deep state,”  which they accuse of staggering corruption, waste, and lack of accountability.

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The new regime was going to change all that. It would put “America First” and “make America great again.”There was going to be transparency. And efficiency. Boy oh boy, was there ever going to be efficiency! A whole program was set up: Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. It was run by Musk, at Trump’s request. Despite many criticisms of Musk’s status as an “unelected” person with an improperly high level of access, Trump was undeterred. Musk had the President’s ear; his trust, and his respect. Then… one day, he didn’t. 

Well, ok, it wasn’t quite as abrupt as that. Signs of cracks in this epicbromance began showing some time ago, mostly around their respective fiscal visions for America. While they both seem to favor capitalism and innovation as the bases of national prosperity, Trump has been on the record as something of a protectionist while Musk has a more open-trade sensibility, the latter being the historically the more successful approach, as well as the more quintessentially American one. 

Trump has long condemned what he saw as the fiscal irresponsibility of the Democrats and he promised to bring more discipline to economic management. But his actions belie his alleged financial chops. From mammoth tariffs that raise costs across the whole economy to a bloated budget that raises the debt ceiling by $4 billion, atop the already gigantic $36 trillion national debt. Libertarians and fiscal conservatives, many of whom supportedTrump solely out of frustration with the reckless taxing-borrowing-spending habits of Democrats, are left dumbfounded and aghast.

People on the Left, who didn’t vote for him and who generally approve of government spending, are also aghast, because they’re chronically aghast at all things Trump. Some liberals worry about anticipated “massive cuts” to benefits programs. But so far, Trump seems reluctant to cut spending on the biggest entitlement programs like Medicare and social security. Trump’s 2025 defense budget is an eye-popping $1.035 trillion, the largest in American history. His proposal does include some tax reductions, but mostly what this means, in real terms, is that much of the expenditures in the budget reconciliation proposal will be financed through debt. Trump is calling the engorged behemoth “The Big Beautiful Bill.” 

Musk, for his part, seems genuinely interested in making the government leaner and more efficient (though I confess, I have always been—and remain—a little skeptical about his true motives being purely civic/patriotic rather than tinged with self-interest; after all, he did seem to have large government contracts and a special interest in AI, one of the few things he seems to want government to regulate; I’m always a little wary of business owners who WANT to be regulated, especially those who talk the talk of free enterprise and deregulation, like Mr. Musk). 

Still, credit where it’s due. Must has devoted lots of unpaid time, neglected his own businesses, taken financial hits, etc., in order to focus on the DOGE mission. He made assessments on a wide range of federal departments and recommended lots of cuts. Trump praised these efforts, but ultimately, the recommendations are mostly being ignored.

Facially, this divergence of economic visions seems to be the reason for their falling out. From Musk’s perspective, Trump’s about-face on the campaign promise of fiscal responsibility is a betrayal of the American people. From Trump’s perspective, it’s Musk who betrayed the common cause by not backing him fully. He’s the president; the one elected to exercise judgment on matters of national policy. Trump’s ego is legendary. He has never taken kindly to criticism, or even advice contrary to what he wants to do. His first term in office was replete with near-constant buzz of personnel turnover. Nobody remains in Trump’s good graces forever, unless he or she pledges their complete, unquestioning, entirely asymmetrical fealty. You kneel. You kiss the king’s ring. One wrong move and you’re out. Just ask Chris Christie. And Michael Cohen. And Mike Pense. And Jeff Sessions. And….

But when you’re Elon Musk, you probably don’t much like kissing rings. You also have an ego that will give anyone a run for their money. And you’re literally 300 times richer than him. You’re smarter (everyone knows it). His wealth comes from real estate, old school wheeling and dealing that oozes a certain amount of sleaziness. Your wealth comes from cool futuristic tech. Electric cars. Satellites networks. Space travel. AI. He has had cheap affairs with porn stars. You’ve fathered children with rock stars. You actually understand economics. And you’ve given this guy generously of your time and money. And he’s going to throw it all away on idiotic policy that will make everyone poorer? And he wants you to bow to HIM?

LOL, as they say.

Sadly (yet hilariously), these rich, powerful, grown men (54 and 79, respectively) have taken to publicly acting out like petulant adolescents. Trump claimed on social media that he “helped” Musk a lot (he wasn’t clear on how) while Musk claimed Trump wouldn’t have been elected if it weren’t for him (he reportedly spent close to $300 million on the campaign). Next, Trump posted that Musk’s government contracts should be terminated. And Musk posted that the reason the client list of Jefferey Epstein (the late financial advisor who was a suspected trafficker of minors for sexual exploitation) has not been released is that Trump’s name is on that list.

And on it goes. This being 21st American politics, which has officially descended into farce, conspiracy theories have emerged. Some say it’s a distraction from something big. Maybe a new war? Maybe aliens have landed! Maybe it’s a scheme the two men have hatched together to get the liberals to like Musk again (since they will blindly like anyone who hates Trump). Why? Because they’re environmentalists and natural customers for electric cars. Their boycott has really hurt Tesla’s profits. Others say it’s a big joke, as Trump and Musk are both famous for trolling.

On the other hand, two narcissists in close proximity… wasn’t it bound to come to loggerheads sooner or later?

The writer is an attorney, author and editor based in Manhattan, New York.