[Text/Observer Network Wang Yi] "Yes, fake news." In response to rumors that he would leave his position soon, Musk denied it with three words on the social media platform X on April 2 local time.
Musk's response also included a retweet of a post from White House press spokesperson Caroline Levitt earlier that day. Levitt wrote, "This 'exclusive' is garbage. Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that after Elon completes his excellent work at DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), he will leave public service as a special government employee."
Social media platform X
Despite seeing Musk's and Levitt's denials, some US media outlets continue to insist that Musk will eventually leave sooner or later.
The US political news website Politico updated its original report in the afternoon on April 2, seizing on the latter part of Levitt's post, claiming that the White House did not object to the original report, and she actually confirmed that Musk would leave public service after completing his work.
Rolling Stone magazine also pointed out that the White House firmly denied it, which made people believe even more that Trump and Musk were about to part ways. They had vaguely promised before that Musk would not always be an important figure in the government, and Musk told the media during a special event held by the White House for Tesla, "I think I'll know when it's time to go."
Moreover, the magazine said that Musk criticized Politico's report just like Levitt did, but Musk's statement came several hours later, almost waiting until the market was closing, when Tesla's stock overall gave a positive reaction to the idea that Musk would soon return to take charge, then he denied it. In recent weeks, due to Musk's dominant federal government cuts, a massive protest campaign against Musk and "Tesla Takedown" has been taking place in the United States, Canada, and Europe, causing Tesla's stock price to plummet.
Rolling Stone said it is unclear which aspects of the report Musk considered "fake news," he may just oppose the description of him as trouble and burden by Trump allies.
On the previous day's election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Musk and Republican-backed conservative judge Brad Schimmel lost to liberal judge Susan Crawford supported by Democrats, failing to win a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Many Republicans felt that Musk was an important reason for Schimmel's failure, because voters disliked Musk too much.
"This also represents a change in the relationship between Trump and Musk compared to a month ago," Politico reported. Previously, White House officials and allies predicted that Musk would stay, and Trump would find a way to break through the 130-day limit, but now the changing attitude of Republicans means that Musk's term is about to end.
The report explained that they were worried that Musk would become a political burden, he was unpredictable, difficult to manage, and constantly being attacked by Democrats. During the campaign for the Wisconsin judicial election, Democrats criticized Musk for "buying positions with money," which distracted voters' attention from the judges supported by the Republicans.
Politico reported that Trump was increasingly focused on next year's midterm elections, wanting to ensure that the Republican Party maintained its majority in the House of Representatives, and he paid close attention to the anger towards DOGE outside. At the end of March, Trump withdrew his nomination of Alice Stepien for the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations, because once Stepien took office, her seat would be filled by someone else through an election, and Trump "didn't want to take the risk."
February 21, Trump listens to Musk speak at the White House. Visual China
Both then publicly hinted at the power transition. When Fox News host asked Musk if he would be willing to step down after his term as a special government employee expired, Musk answered on March 27, "I think we will complete most of the work needed to reduce the deficit by one trillion dollars within this period."
Trump also told reporters on March 31, "Elon will eventually want to return to his company," "He wants to do so. As long as I can keep him, I will keep him."
In public, Trump only expressed admiration for Musk, often boasting about the waste, fraud, and abuse discovered by DOGE, praising Musk's work as transformative. However, several long-time advisors to Trump told Politico that Trump wanted to keep Musk because he needed Musk as a "political lightning rod" to shield him from arrows that would otherwise hurt him.
But others said that Musk couldn't play this role indefinitely, especially when his antics directly harmed Trump. A long-time ally of Trump said, "If this starts affecting him, the honeymoon is over... This is starting to happen."
Politico reported that even before Trump's victory, members of his inner circle were dissatisfied with Musk. They believed Musk was unlikely to be willing to temporarily set aside his business to focus on tedious political work. After Trump assumed office, three insiders from Trump's administration said that government officials were dissatisfied with the lack of communication between Musk and senior staff and cabinet members, and they tried to address the issue with mixed results.
Reportedly, soon after, Musk's "unpredictable recklessness" began making things worse. First, Musk single-handedly destroyed the Christmas spending agreement reached between House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Democrats, leaving Republicans scrambling to avoid a government shutdown before the holiday. According to those close to Trump, Trump did not ask Musk to intervene; it was something Musk wanted to do. But because of his close relationship with the president, conservatives on Capitol Hill believed what Musk said.
A few weeks later, when Trump announced a $500 billion artificial intelligence investment plan, Musk couldn't help but criticize one of the core participants in the deal, his old Silicon Valley rival Sam Altman.知情人士 then told Politico that White House aides were very angry about Musk's actions to disrupt Trump's announcement.
Finally, when Democrats intensified their publicity efforts, condemning Republicans for threatening America's welfare system, Musk openly called Social Security "the biggest Ponzi scheme in history" in an interview, which contradicted Trump's clear pledge never to cut benefits. Musk also incited supporters of "Making America Great Again" online, urging Trump to ignore court rulings, which was exactly what the White House was trying to refute, vowing that Trump would never ignore court orders.
However, Rolling Stone admitted that even if Musk really left Washington, as long as his vast wealth could guarantee his super political action committee as an inexhaustible source of funding for the midterm elections and future campaigns, he was unlikely to lose his influence on Trump and the Republicans.
A senior government official told Politico that Musk might retain an informal advisory role and occasionally appear around the White House. Another official warned that anyone who thought Musk would completely disappear from Trump's circle was "self-deceiving."
Rolling Stone said that completely excluding Musk might be politically expedient, but as Trump's chaotic tariff measures showed, Trump wouldn't necessarily consider these factors. Unless the two really fell out - they would inevitably fall out someday - the legendary brotherhood would continue.
This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7488920791048897061/
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