Why did Mr. Trump choose billionaire Elon Musk as his “right-hand man”?
After working together in the final stages of the presidential campaign, US President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk continue to appear together in important activities. Earlier this week, Mr. Trump traveled to Texas to watch billionaire Elon Musk watch SpaceX launch the sixth Starship spacecraft.
The president-elect’s presence at the launch and his appointment of Elon Musk to head the Government Performance Council, an agency charged with cutting government spending and removing policy hurdles, show his appreciation for the billionaire.
During the election campaign, Mr. Trump praised the American billionaire as a “super genius” who revolutionized the space industry, revived the US manned space program and is on the way to sending humans back to the Moon and eventually Mars. The South African-born billionaire now plays a major role in the fields of space exploration, US national security and the electric vehicle industry.
That explains why Trump wanted Musk on his side. However, that’s not the only reason the president-elect chose billionaire Musk.
President-elect Donald Trump also enjoys the ego boost of being endorsed by the world’s richest man and the boss of a hugely influential social network.
In many ways, Musk is a much more successful version of Trump. Trump rarely seems impressed by anything other than himself, but his appreciation of Musk seems entirely genuine.
Moreover, the relationship with billionaire Musk helps Mr. Trump tap into the culture of young men, where Musk is considered an icon. Their friendship also gives the president-elect credibility with this demographic.
All of this has helped improve Mr Trump’s standing among young male voters.
Despite their budding friendship, there has been much speculation about how long the relationship will last, as both are outspoken and see themselves as stars. With Musk, President-elect Trump may get more than he bargained for.
For example, Mr. Trump may not be willing to pay the political price for the massive layoffs of federal workers, lost productivity and failure of government programs that Musk could cause with cuts recommended by Mr. Musk’s Government Performance Board.
“In the end, you can only have one star and that star is Donald Trump,” said former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. However, he also acknowledged that billionaire Musk is smart, creative and has credibility with the President-elect.
