Trump-Musk bromance is on the rocks as feuds erupt

President-elect Donald Trump walks past Elon Musk as they attend the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida.

More signs are beginning to emerge of a fracture in the relationship between Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who dumped money into Trump’s successful presidential bid. Even before Trump’s inauguration, there are indications he is rebelling at the notion that Musk wields disproportionate influence over his decision-making or, even worse, is truly the one in control.

The decision of whom to nominate as treasury secretary will be one of Trump’s most important calls since that official will determine fiscal policy and have an enormous impact on the domestic and global economy. In Trump’s last go-round, he left office with high unemployment and the worst net job loss of any president since the statistic has been tracked.

Musk favors the appointment of Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition team, for the job. He went public with his position and contrasted it with the possible pick of Scott Bessent, posting, “My view [for what it’s worth] is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas [Lutnick] will actually enact change.”

The public statement has apparently given Trump second thoughts, and he is now considering other candidates for the position. The Washington Post cites sources in the Trump camp pointing to Musk’s statement as a problem.

“People are not happy,” the source told the paper, explaining that Trump’s circle is displeased with the perception that Musk has been operating as a “co-president.”

At the same time as the treasury-secretary problem emerged, Musk is reportedly at odds with Boris Epshteyn, a longtime member of Trump’s inner circle.

Citing multiple sources, Axios reported that there was a “massive blowup” and “huge explosion” between the two men after Musk accused Epshteyn of leaking details of the transition’s inner workings to the media, including the names of possible Cabinet nominations.

Epshteyn has been with Trump for a long time, even spending years providing pro-Trump video editorials that were distributed across the nation on the right-wing Sinclair Broadcast Group’s network of local TV stations. Trump has repeatedly emphasized the importance of personal loyalty, and Epshteyn appears to have far more in his favor on this measure than Musk, a recent Trump convert.

Musk also saw his campaign to install Florida Sen. Rick Scott as Senate majority leader fail. He announced his support via tweet before Trump had weighed in on the issue, only to be embarrassed as Senate Republicans chose South Dakota Sen. John Thune to be their new leader.

Musk spent millions to help elect Trump and is now flexing his muscles as a political influencer. But Trump has infamously made it clear that there is no room for a co-pilot in his position as head of the party and the conservative movement (remember former Vice President Mike Pence?). So while the Musk-Trump relationship is still in its early phases, history is not on the side of this hastily arranged bromance.