It is unclear where President Donald Trump’s relationship with Elon Musk will go from here, there are already some signs the two of them might be making up, but what the incident has revealed is just how weak Mush is among Republicans on Capitol Hill… or as the kids might say, Washington is just not that into Elon Musk.
In the midst of his emotional breakdown this week, Musk beseeched his followers to flood Congress with messages to stop Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. “Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok!” Musk said on X, adding, “KILL the BILL.”
This actually can be an effective tactic to change lawmaker opinion on Capitol Hill. If an office is getting flooded with phone calls from constituents on a certain issue (and all offices have caller ID to see if the numbers calling in are really from their district/state), and all of those calls are urging the lawmaker to vote a certain way, that has moved lawmakers to flip their positions in the past.
But from what sources are saying on Capitol Hill, Musk’s social media messaging fell flat. No one called in. No one.
Sure Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) shared Musk’s message, as did former-Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), but Massie already voted against the bill in the House, and his vote was irrelevant, and there is a reason Amash is now a former member.
Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill isn’t perfect. It doesn’t cut enough spending and it gives too many tax breaks to wealthy homeowners in Democratic states. But those were the political compromises Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the White House had to make in order to get the votes needed to pass the bill. There simply was no coalition producing the spending cuts Musk wants.
Governing is not the same as owning a company. Musk can’t just come into DC, fire everyone in Congress and pass whatever laws he wants. Democracy doesn’t work that way.
TRUMP’S DEPORTATION RECORD IS UNDERRATED
The reality is that Musk is delusional if he thinks he was even a minor reason why Trump won the White House a second time. Musk’s latest intervention in Wisconsin failed. His own approval ratings are in the tank. He is not nearly as good at politics as he thinks he is.
There is no reason that Musk can’t decide to make amends with Trump and the Republican Party. But if he continues to burn bridges and think there are masses of voters who will respond to his neurotic whims, he has many years of disappointment ahead of him.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
