As if the billionaire megadonor doesn’t already have enough access to Donald Trump, Musk is reportedly poised to receive office space near the West Wing.

Summary

Elon Musk, a Republican megadonor and close Trump ally, is reportedly set to have office space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the West Wing.

Musk is expected to head the “Department of Government Efficiency,” aiming to reduce federal spending under Trump.

Critics question Musk’s influence, noting his frequent presence at key Trump meetings and events.

This move, if confirmed, would grant Musk continued access to Trump post-inauguration, sparking debate about the billionaire’s role in the administration despite holding no official government position.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
      0·
      2 years ago

      That door has been open a while, he’s just the biggest one and in the latest tradition the quiet part is being said out loud now. More validation of the real message of “Soylent Green”, where a society degrades to the point where even the most outrageous actions get at best a shrug from the apathetic public.

  • cygnus@lemmy.ca
    0·
    2 years ago

    The article and the NYT one which it cites fail to mention if there’s any historical precedent for this kind of arrangement. Is there?

    • valek879@sh.itjust.works
      0·
      2 years ago

      No idea for the US but a few years ago South Korea dealt with a similar situation. It was revealed that the president had a friend who was acting as an unpaid, unelected advisor making decisions for the president, seeing classified information, and helping set national policy. They had million person protests in the middle of Seoul that culminated in the impeachment of their president and her removal from office. The advisor was also arrested and sentenced to 20 years or something.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_South_Korean_political_scandal

      • Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        2 years ago

        Unfortunately most americans are too spineless to raise up and do anything about this bullshit so there will be no penalty.

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 years ago

    This twerp must have some absolutely devastating dirt on Trumpy boy. I’m coming to the conclusion that there’s no other explanation. It can’t possibly just be money; Trump has tons of other rich donors. What I’m struggling to predict, though, is just what he could possibly have to hold over Trump’s head that’s worse than selling classified documents, misusing campaign funds, trying to incite an insurrection, or failing to pay his hookers.

    • andyburke@fedia.io
      0·
      2 years ago

      It’s not like this. This is conspiratorial thinking.

      These people are just … weirdos. This is how weirdos are friends: transactionally, with little common ground. Trump feels like he has something to offer a friend that friend, even though he’s richer, can’t.

      It’s all fucking base and stupid and nowhere near the ideals we are supposed to aspire to as a nation.

    • Supervisor194@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      They are both beholden to Putin, very likely afraid for their lives and rightfully so. Putin is a billionaire but he also has a state apparatus with global reach behind him that he is intimately familiar with. He has demonstrated repeatedly over the years that he is willing and able to use that apparatus to… make people fall out of windows, etc. And all of this doesn’t even consider the possibility of kompromat - these are all deeply bad people.

      I believe Putin is the real mastermind behind everything that is going on and also that he has realized that Trump is of limited value to him in the White House. Trump’s cult gets him in, but he had four years already and really didn’t make a lot of inroads (not to mention his visibly declining health).

      So in my opinion, this is Putin shuttling in someone who can be more useful to him. The canary in the coal mine for whether or not this is true will be to see if the infighting everyone is breathlessly predicting ever materializes. I predict it will not. Elon Musk will not end up like Anthony Scaramucci.

  • TommySoda@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 years ago

    Dystopian implications aside, I wanna see how long it takes for everyone to be absolutely sick of him. He’s already insufferable when he’s not even in the room.

      • TommySoda@lemmy.world
        0·
        2 years ago

        I’m talking more about the other people in the Whitehouse. I’ve had my fair share of obnoxious and insufferable coworkers that I’ve been forced to interact with on a daily basis.

  • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 years ago

    This is a good thing. Familiarity breeds contempt. A middle school spat between these two prissy boys is imminent.

  • TooManyFoods@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 years ago

    People were talking about a MAGA civil war. It will be over in a night if this is an indicator. Bannon is going to get such a long knife man. I assume, that is.

    • Critical_Thinker@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      2 years ago

      We’re no better than Russia.

      Gulag for you, comrade.

      Maybe the US needs more political prisoners so we can be up to par from the minority parties. The hatred is almost there amongst the loyalists to the billionaire elite. Just check out a fox news comments section, they’d love to shoot some democrats up. They don’t even consider them human anymore.

      I can’t believe how mass media is turning people into monsters who cheer for the death of hard working working class families while the billionaires get bigger and bigger handouts from tax dollars.

    • minnow@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      The cold war was against the Soviets. We’re losing to fascists.

      Which is much worse (imo)

  • Yeller_king@reddthat.com
    0·
    2 years ago

    My question is why does Trump feel beholden to him now? It’s not like he needs to win another election. Something else is going on here.

      • Captainvaqina@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        2 years ago

        Elon is actually rich from all his scams, unlike the traitor who is perpetually in debt.

        That’s all there is to it. The seditious, makeup wearing, draft dodging, lying, cheating, stealing little orange piss baby is just psychopathically greedy.

      • dellish@lemmy.world
        0·
        2 years ago

        True, but what’s doing my head in is Bezos and Zuckerberg are both bending the knee and doing what they’re told, yet Musk can say what he wants and is still all cosy with Drumpf. Why is it that some money is good but other money doesn’t get a say at all?