Welcome to the United States of Elon
This is America 2024: A country where the world’s richest man can force a government shutdown with a barrage of tweets consisting almost entirely of lies and conspiracy theories.
Never mind that Joe Biden is still the President and that Donald Trump isn’t scheduled to return to the office for another month. Elon Musk-an unelected billionaire from South Africa- just showed us who is really in charge. Ever since his timely investment in the Trump campaign, Musk has been fast at work reshaping the country to satify his whims, his already considerable bank balance, and his thirst for attention.
Musk’s latest power play came Wednesday when he decided he didn’t like the bi-partisan government funding deal. No matter that it was painstakingly negotiated between Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Never mind that MAGA Speaker Mike Johnson argued for it. Musk just decided the way deciders do. Then he took to his social media platform to destroy it.
News reports say he sent out up to 100-tweets that were a combination of threats, misinformation and atta-boys to the cowardly Republican lawmakers who flip flopped to support his cause. Throughout it all, Trump was barely a factor as Democrat Daniel Goldman (D-NY) explained here. Journalist Chris Hayes also weighed in about the “Elon Musk branch of government” saying:
“a guy who’s never received a single vote, who is constitutionally ineligible to serve as actual president, who polling shows isn’t wanted there by the American people” is now “effectively running the United States”
‘President Musk’s’ takeover of the GOP was also headlines news:
Musk Is 'President-Elect' After He Helped Tank Spending Plan
Trump Dragged for Letting “President Musk” Run the Government
Democrats Troll ‘Vice President’ Trump as Musk Calls the Shots
Elon Musk Called 'President' as Trump Follows in His Footsteps on CR Bill
Musk being tagged as President, Co-President or Shadow President should really come as no surprise. Afterall, he does own both Trump and the Republican Congress. All it took to buy them was a paltry quarter of a billion dollars. Chump change for Musk who is worth $472-Billion and rising to the tune of another $4B a day since the November election.
Now Musk has a free hand to manipulate Trump & the GOP to close down the government. What’s next? His very long wish list includes changing any laws & regulations he disapproves of, grabbing more fat defense contracts, locking in those Trump tax credits, stripping the federal government for parts and sharing the spoils with his oligarch bros.
Photo credit: Alex Brandon/AP
All this brings me to my favorite topic: Is the news media up to the task of covering this crazy new power dynamic? Many fearless outlets like Mother Jones, The New Republic, Truthout, The Guardian & Reuters are already busy digging into the impacts of Musk’s policy plans. After seeming star- struck during Musk’s visit to the Capitol two weeks ago, the DC press corp definitely upped its game this week when Musk tanked the budget deal. Next we need to see some detailed coverage of the political impacts for Trump and the GOP. I mean, just how long is Trump going to be okay with Musk being called President?
San Francisco based journalist Gil Duran understands Musk better than most. I asked him what advice he has for other journalists, especially the DC press corps:
GD: Musk has a talent for turning everything into a joke or a meme, but he is a fountain of disinformation and propaganda, and his plans are deadly serious. If journalism wishes to survive, it must evolve to cover these kinds of threats. Musk can no longer be covered as an eccentric tech CEO, and it's unethical to give a known propagandist the benefit of the doubt. To cover him accurately and honestly, he must be treated as an existential threat to democracy, free speech and truth. Because that's what he is.
One of the biggest mistakes the press makes is forgetting that Musk is an enemy of free speech. He pretends to be a champion, and they repeat his false claim like fools. But the first thing he did after buying Twitter was ban a bunch of journalists (including me) for no reason. He is suppressing voices with which he disagrees and boosting those that parrot his beliefs. He regularly does that which he accuses others of doing. So when he calls others the enemies of free speech, he is telling on himself.
JS: Do you have any advice for the DC press corps about how to better cover Musk & Ramaswamy?
GD: Don't get played by propaganda tactics. These guys know how to use the mechanisms of traditional journalism against journalists. They'll get you to amplify and repeat ridiculous lies, and this will erode your credibility. Remember: One of their main goals is to erase the public's ability to distinguish between lies and truth. Journalists must hold the line and refuse to cover liars and lies with naive, 20th century objectivity. The rules have changed and journalism must evolve or die. To be clear, it is currently dying.
In many ways, Musk is running the same old Trump playbook. Flood the zone with lies and propaganda so no one can keep up. In other ways, he is even more dangerous. After all, he is not accountable to any voters. He owns a huge media platform that he is eager to use for his own purposes. His companies are now going to be embedded in the government, and, according to recent reports, he’s lax with national security. Yet his billions have bought him control of the GOP, and today that means control of our government. The big question is will the mainstream news media take a stronger stance this time?
Jennifer Schulze is a Chicago journalist talking about journalism. You can read her columns here, on Heartland Signal and on her Substack “Indistinct Chatter.” Follow Jennifer on Bluesky @newsjennifer.bsky.social or Threads @newsjennifer_schulze.