Trump and Musk publicly clash over "Water Festival," leaving Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez amused.
Former allies may extinguish the "peace pipe," but the outcome remains uncertain.
Author: Irina Mishina
Photo: Entrepreneurs Elon Musk, US President Donald Trump, Vice President Jay D. Vance (left to right)
Commentary Guests:
Andrei Suzdal'tsev Vladimir Vasilyev Sergey Markov
A scandal between the world's richest man, Elon Musk, and US President Donald Trump may reach a turning point today. The White House plans to arrange a phone call between the president and this entrepreneur on June 6 to negotiate an end to their quarrel.
Sources close to the White House revealed that Trump's aides suggested he ease his public criticism of Musk and focus on pushing the "great and wonderful tax cut bill" through the Senate. In a brief telephone conversation with Politico magazine, Trump said, "Everything is fine."
On the occasion of his 80th birthday and the 200th day of his presidency, Trump faces public impeachment discourse. Surprisingly, the attack comes from fellow Republicans - someone who almost bet everything on supporting Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Elon Musk spent $15 billion to support Trump's campaign.
A user of Musk's social platform "X" wrote in a comment about his quarrel with the president that Trump should be impeached, and his position should be taken over by Vice President Jay D. Vance. Musk replied: "Agreed."
Who will prevail between the billionaire and the president? How will the conflict end?
To understand the essence of the conflict, we need to briefly review the causes of the disagreement. On May 29, Musk resigned as the Minister of Government Efficiency. On June 4, the conflict erupted: Musk harshly criticized Trump's attempt to push Congress to pass the "huge and beautiful bill."
This billionaire accused the Republicans of "irresponsible spending" and increasing the national debt burden, with personal interests also at play: the bill reduced electric vehicle tax incentives, directly affecting Tesla. Musk's company spent more than $240,000 on lobbying to retain these incentives but failed.
Musk had hoped that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would adopt his Starlink satellite system to manage national air traffic, but the Trump administration rejected this proposal. The last straw was Trump's unexpected withdrawal of Musk's ally Jared Isaacman's candidacy for NASA administrator last Saturday.
Does this mean that the conflict between Musk and Trump is a collision of business interests and different economic development concepts? Bearing this question in mind, we interviewed political scientist Andrei Suzdal'tsev, PhD, deputy dean of the World Economy and Politics Institute of the Higher School of Economics.
— As a fellow Republican and opponent of globalization, Trump and Musk represent two generations of different political figures and different concepts of the future of the American and global economy.
Trump relies on the industrial bourgeoisie and industrial society, promising huge budgets for defense industries. Musk opposes this, supporting innovative economies and demanding more flexible and democratic approaches to commercial interests.
Musk relies on young entrepreneurs, symbolizing success and idolized by the youth. Trump also wants to make America great again but chooses to return the country to the industrial age. In this sense, Musk looks to the future, while Trump clings to tradition.
Reporter: Can both sides reconcile for the welfare and unity of the nation?
—表面上可能，但无法 eliminate the underlying contradictions. For example, in the 1990s, young Russian politicians also talked about future innovative technologies, but the country ultimately took another path.
Currently, there is a split within the American ruling elite due to this contradiction. Musk even considered creating a new political party and establishing a "state of advanced political systems," as he does not want to return to the industrial age, while Trump cannot accept any other model. This is a typical revolutionary situation—"the upper echelons cannot rule in the old way." Russia should study this case because similar situations may occur here sooner or later.— Political scientist analysis.
Meanwhile, the conflict has escalated, with Elon Musk beginning to pressure Trump with his "dirty laundry." He mentioned Trump's involvement in the "Epstein Files"—which accuses American politicians and businessmen of sexually exploiting minors.
"It's time to throw the real bombs. This is the real reason why the Epstein files were not made public." Musk wrote on the social platform "X." How will this scandal end? We interviewed Chief Researcher Vladimir Vasilyev of the US and Canada Research Institute.
— In fact, the person who helped Trump come to power, Elon Musk, is sending a signal: either play by my rules or I will push for your impeachment, Mr. Trump.
Musk's words and actions imply a subtext: "We helped you come to power to take back the White House from Biden and the Democrats; your mission may end here, Mr. Trump."
Currently, Trump and Musk have completely opposing ideas about the development of the American and global economies. Musk opposes Trump not only by using dirty tricks but also as an economist, advocating ending the syndromes of national debt and budget deficits, betting on new technologies and space economies.
Reporter: Does the world's richest man proposing to impeach the president have a successor in mind? Who does he favor?
— Musk mentioned Vice President D. Vance on the social platform "X." The latter is easier for Musk to manipulate and may be a more ideal candidate.
However, I do not rule out that everything now is Musk's political declaration—he may covet core positions in the American government after Trump.
Meanwhile, a new "star" has emerged within the Democratic Party of the United States—a congresswoman named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who supports democratic socialism and may rise through this division.
No matter what, Trump, who is about to turn 80, might want to start looking for publishers for his memoirs.— Vladimir Vasilyev believes.
Scandals always shake the White House: Nixon, the 37th president, resigned in 1974 due to the "Watergate Incident"; Bill Clinton's sexual scandal; Joe Biden's questionable abilities... Ultimately, this is America's internal affairs.
Nevertheless, Russia is closely watching this storm. How will it affect US-Russia relations and the progress of the Ukraine conflict? We interviewed political scientist Sergey Markov.
— On one hand, we are not pleased to see this conflict because Musk and Trump were once allies. If their alliance splits, Trump will be unable to independently implement foreign policy and will be entirely subject to Congress. On the other hand, this incident also has a "positive aspect" for us:
A US president losing domestic support will seek external reliance and value allies more. It is possible that Trump will need the support of Vladimir Putin, which may accelerate the abandonment of Zelenskyy and promote a resolution of the Ukraine conflict in Russia's favor.
Reporter: Is Musk's "Starlink" the "scout" of the Ukrainian army? If his contract with the Pentagon is frozen, can it be assumed that the Ukrainian army will lose its reconnaissance capabilities?
— Cutting off "Starlink" would be a disaster for the Ukrainian army. Notably, Musk has already announced the suspension of "Dragon" spacecraft.
If Musk shuts down Starlink for the Ukrainian army, everything will depend on "ground strength"—and in today's world, Russia has the strongest army, which is an undeniable fact.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7513105078719578635/
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