The most talked-about orbit right now, however, is not in the sky but rather the one that is growing closer to home and bringing the planet’s richest and soon-to-be most powerful man together. Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump — following visits to view Republicans in Washington and an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout in New York, which included a McDonald’s in mid-flight with a grimacing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. To witness Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket launch on its most recent test flight, they once again hit the road. Trump’s hyperbole wasn’t excessive for once. He posted on social media, “I’m going to the Great State of Texas to witness the arrival of the biggest object ever raised—not just to space, but just by lifting off the ground.”. For the past two weeks, Musk, the visionary behind SpaceX and Tesla, has been enjoying Trump’s reflected glory at Mar-a-Lago. Almost like family, he’s so prevalent that he even made an appearance in a picture of Trump’s extended family. The time had come for him to give his new best friend a little of his aura. With his jaw clenched, eyes narrowed against the glare, and wearing a red MAGA hat with the numbers “45” and “47” on it, Trump posed like a Mount Rushmore, undoubtedly aware that he would be paired with the rocket’s takeoff burn on television split screens. He appeared as though he were taking some of the credit. Trum was surrounded by a number of smaller satellites during the anxious pre-launch period.
It clarifies why Musk is someone Trump wants on his side. How might Musk use his new Department of Government Efficiency, which he and Vivek Ramaswamy have been appointed to lead, if he can both disrupt the aerospace industry and reinvent the electric vehicle business? Trump feels he has a mandate to blow up the federal bureaucracy like one of the prototype rockets his new friend used to boost progress in his space program. The president-elect’s attendance at the Starship launch, however, and his endorsement of Musk also highlight the serious issues with their partnership. The South African-born billionaire now has a massive role in space exploration, US national security and the electric vehicle industry. Musk can also receive extraordinary favors from Trump. Equipped with the presidential power in his new position as a scourge of government, Musk might even be able to eliminate laws that impede his operations and make money by manipulating the market. During the initial Trump administration, conflicts of interest were not given much consideration. However, Musk’s prominence in Trump 2.0 as the most notable ally in a new inner circle of millionaires, billionaires, and Fox News anchors means they are now officially considered a joke. Elon Musk shows the U.S. A. In the control room prior to the SpaceX Starship rocket’s sixth test flight on November 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, are President-elect Donald Trump and lawmakers. Trump’s billionaire SpaceX owner is Elon Musk.
Elon Musk shows the U.S. A. In the control room prior to the SpaceX Starship rocket’s sixth test flight on November 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, are President-elect Donald Trump and lawmakers. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and SpaceX’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, a Trump confidante, have been appointed to head the new Department of Government Efficiency. As Musk’s influence grows during Trump’s transition, everyone should have been watching the world’s largest rocket thundering into space Tuesday over a Texas launchpad. The most talked-about orbit right now, however, is not in the sky but rather the one that is growing closer to home and bringing the planet’s richest and soon-to-be most powerful man together. Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump — following visits to view Republicans in Washington and an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout in New York, which included a McDonald’s in mid-flight with a grimacing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. To witness Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket launch on its most recent test flight, they once again hit the road. Trump’s hyperbole wasn’t excessive for once. He posted on social media, “I’m going to the Great State of Texas to witness the arrival of the biggest object ever raised—not just to space, but just by lifting off the ground.”. For the past two weeks, Musk, the visionary behind SpaceX and Tesla, has been enjoying Trump’s reflected glory at Mar-a-Lago. He is in the area.
Trump struck a Mount Rushmore pose with his jaw clenched, eyes narrowed against the glare, and a red MAGA hat with the numbers “45” and “47” on it. He was undoubtedly aware that television split screens would show him next to the rocket’s takeoff burn. It appeared as though he was taking some of the credit himself. Trump, along with his son Donald Jr., was surrounded by a number of smaller satellites in the anxious moments leading up to the launch. Senator from Texas. Texas Representative Ted Cruz. The former White House doctor, Ronny Jackson. However, Musk’s appearance and explanation of what would happen when the rocket took off seemed to energize the president-elect the most. It was somewhat disappointing that Trump was unable to witness the spectacular ballet of SpaceX returning its enormous booster to be grasped by a cutting-edge launchpad, which he had gushed about during the campaign. Earlier this month, Trump stated, “I see that fire pouring out the bottom of the rocket that’s coming in sideways, and I say “it’s going to crash into the gantry.”. “And those two big beautiful arms they grab it — I said, ‘What the hell was that?’ When the giant Roman candle-like vehicle descended slowly in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, mission controllers decided in a split second to abandon it. Greg Autry, associate provost for space commercialization and strategy at the University of Central, said, “Perhaps they just want to be cautious not to kill the president-elect of the United States by any chance.”.
In the initial term of the Trump administration, conflicts of interest were largely disregarded. However, Musk’s prominent role in Trump 2.0 as a key ally in a growing circle of billionaires, millionaires, and Fox News personalities has made these conflicts a subject of ridicule.
The reason behind Trump’s fondness for Musk is not a mystery. He admires Musk’s charisma and undeniable intelligence. Furthermore, Trump enjoys the attention of being courted by one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, especially someone who invested heavily in his election campaign and created a platform that mirrors Trump’s ideologies and has the potential to sway a large number of voters.
His odd jiggling on stage during his rallies was interpreted by his political rivals as an indication of deteriorating cognitive function. His admirers saw it as self-deprecation and humor. Major league athletes are now adopting the president-elect’s two-fisted shimmy, boogie Trump-style, to celebrate goals, touchdowns, and big-fight victories. For a Republican Party that has long struggled to match Democrats in terms of major celebrity support, this is heady stuff. On October 26, 2024, Donald Trump performs a dance on stage at a campaign rally in Novi, Michigan. On October 26, 2024, Donald Trump performs a dance on stage at a campaign rally.
However, there is also a darker element involved. The darkest closing argument of any presidential candidate in modern history solidified Trump’s extreme image, which he is now smoothing down. On state, the president-elect dances to the Village People’s “Y.”. M. C. A. is the same person who has a criminal record, attempts to rig the 2020 election by lying about the outcome, promises mass deportations of undocumented migrants, and seems determined to exercise unbridled power after January 20. Authoritarians have long used antics and stunts to soften their image while advancing their personality cults and disguising their darker intentions.
It might just be a coincidence, but North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un frequently attends televised rocket launches when he wants to be viewed as the country’s father. How much time can it last? In addition to “Y. M. C. A. Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” which tells the story of an astronaut “burning out his fuse” Trump-style while flying alone through space, is another mainstay of the MAGA campaign trail soundtrack. The song might be a reflection of Trump’s naive admiration for Musk’s incredible collection of spacecraft and boundless ambition. Because both men are abrasive, need to be the stars in their own firmaments, and seem to find close friendships difficult, it’s becoming fashionable to speculate when the Trump-Musk bromance might blow up, despite their developing friendship. Trump may receive more from Musk than he anticipated.
For example, he might not be prepared to bear the political cost of widespread federal employee layoffs, lost productivity, and government program failures that Musk could bring about with the drastic budget cuts suggested by the new DOGE.
“In the end, there can only be one star of the show, and that star will be Donald Trump,” the former governor of Minnesota said. On Tuesday, Tim Pawlenty told Erin Burnett of CNN. However, he added that Musk is intelligent, creative, and inventive, and that he was a perfect fit for the president-elect. He claimed that Trump ran on a platform of “breaking the mold.”. Even though Musk has enormous non-state power due to his wealth and business endeavors that have a significant impact on the economies of countries worldwide, it will be obvious who is the senior partner when Trump is sworn in as president of the United States for the second time. Another reason to keep Musk around is that he is turning into a force multiplier for Trump. Following the election, the president-elect put him on the phone with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. In the conflict with Russia, which Trump has promised to end, Musk is in charge of the Starlink internet service, which is essential to Ukraine’s military. A clever student of Trump flattery, French President Emmanuel Macron also intends to invite Musk and the 47th president to an AI summit in Paris in February. Trump called North Korean leader Kim a “little rocket man” during the first few months of his first term.
Trump frequently talks about how they “fell in love” after the initial hostility subsided, despite the fact that their photo-op summits had little effect on Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Whether the Kim-Trump feud will continue during the next president’s second term is too soon to tell. Furthermore, Trump has a new rocket man.
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