Trump and Musk: A High-Stakes Alliance on the Brink

President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have formed a partnership so deeply intertwined that severing it could lead to mutual destruction, CNN columnist Stephen Collinson argued in a column on Monday.

Collinson delved into the internal conflicts brewing within Trump’s MAGA base after the president-elect backed Musk’s support for visas for foreign tech workers. This stance, Collinson noted, clashes with Trump’s “America First” agenda and has ignited a “civil war” among his most loyal supporters.

“The uproar over tech visas also revived one of the transition’s most intriguing questions: How long will Trump tolerate Musk’s capacity to dominate political debate in a way that only he can match?” Collinson wrote.

The columnist highlighted the fragility of their alliance, pointing out how critics and Democrats alike have sought to exploit tensions by dubbing Musk “President Musk,” a label meant to highlight his outsized influence.

“Skeptics are convinced that the president-elect will soon tire of Musk’s ubiquity,” Collinson continued. “The lesson of Trump’s first term is that those who overshadow him soon find themselves exiting his orbit or becoming a scapegoat when things go wrong.”

However, this partnership between Trump and Musk stands apart from the usual dynamics. Collinson noted that Musk’s unique status as a wealthy, unpredictable power player with a vast social media platform makes their relationship unlike any other in modern history.

“There’s no modern precedent for a faction of a president’s power base being led by someone as rich, mercurial, and powerful as Musk with immediate access to a mighty social media network,” he wrote.

Despite these tensions, both men have strong incentives to maintain their alliance. Musk benefits from a government position that allows him to promote his interests, while Trump and the Republican Party rely on Musk’s financial clout and social media influence.

“Musk will never be able to replicate the inside government perch that he can use to promote his interests,” Collinson wrote. “And Republicans will be banking on the SpaceX chief’s financial might as the midterm elections approach.”

Ultimately, Collinson concluded, the potential for mutual destruction might deter a falling-out between the two. “Each has the capacity to wreak destruction on the other,” he warned, noting that Trump’s government power and Musk’s control of social media create a precarious balance.