‘No, he’s not taking the presidency,’ Donald Trump exclaimed Sunday night. ‘That’s not happening.’
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While Donald Trump still thinks his “first friend” Elon Musk is a “great guy,” he needs to make it clear that one person takes the lead.
“No, he’s not going to take over the presidency,” Trump said in a speech Sunday night. “That doesn’t happen. “
The president-elect’s sarcasm comes as Democrats seek to drive a wedge between the world’s richest man and the notoriously sensitive Trump, highlighting Musk’s growing influence and describing him as the “real president. “The mockery only increased after last week’s chaos on Capitol Hill, after Musk lashed out at House Republicans’ initial spending bill, prompting lawmakers to race against time to conclude some other deal to avert a government shutdown.
“Elon Musk showed that he is the true leader of the Republican Party because for about four, five, six hours he tweeted non-stop opposing the deal that all parties negotiated and agreed to,” the president said. representing Brendan Boyle. (D-PA) told CNN over the weekend.
Democratic lawmaker Dan Goldman added that Trump is simply President Musk’s “chief of staff” at this point. At the same time, the anti-Trump organization The Lincoln Project posted a video calling Trump “vice president” of Elon Musk.
Although conservative media outlets have claimed that Trump and the Tesla CEO “are in sync,” and the new president’s team has called the concept of Musk being the one running the screen “ridiculous,” other Republicans argue that the owner of X (formerly Twitter) has almost comparable influence to Trump’s.
Several MAGA lawmakers have suggested Musk, who co-chairs Trump’s Advisory Committee on Government Effectiveness, replace Mike Johnson, whom he humiliated over the government’s investment schedule, as House speaker. Additionally, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said Sunday morning that “it looks like” the DOGE leader “is our minister. “
Toward the end of his lengthy speech at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest on Sunday night, Trump sent a message that while he considered Musk a “great guy,” his appointment has a limit.
“No, he’s not taking the presidency,” Trump quipped before claiming Democrats were on a “new kick” regarding Musk. “All the different hoaxes, and the new one is, ‘President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk.’ No, no, that’s not happening.”
He also noted that no matter how much influence other people had within the Republican Party and its new administration, there is one position that Elon Musk will surely simply not get.
“No, he’s not going to be president, I can tell you that,” Trump proclaimed. “And I’m safe. Do you know why? It can’t be. He wasn’t born in this country. But the fake news knows. ” .
Meanwhile, those who have been in Trump’s inner circle only to be pushed out in the end predict that Musk’s position by Trump’s side won’t last as there’s only so much spotlight to share.
“When you initially begin in that role, you have enormous influence,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Sunday. “And he loves having you around, and he loves listening to you, and you’re the best thing in the world. It will always decline. And that’s what happens. And you’ll see it. It will happen with Elon Musk, too.”
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