The aftermath.
December 23, 2024
The news cycle over the last 48 hours was driven by Trump's effort to deal with the aftermath of his defeat on Friday. Not only did he fail to secure debt limit relief, 176 Republicans defied his threats of primary challenges to vote in favor of a bill opposed by Trump. Worse, Speaker-in-Name-Only (SPINO) Mike Johnson spoke to the press after the continuing resolution was passed and described his conversations with Elon Musk about the bill—not Donald Trump.
The central (but unsuccessful) role played by Elon Musk in the effort to force a government shutdown overshadowed Trump's status as president-elect—much to Trump's displeasure. Trump's spokesperson issued a statement last week saying, “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.”
Then, in remarks on Sunday before a conservative conference, Trump said,
No, [Musk] is not gonna be president, that I can tell you. And I’m safe, you know why? He can’t be, he wasn’t born in this country.
Trump's statement oozes insecurity. Trump is so worried about Musk that he is comforting himself by referring to the constitutional prohibition against foreign-born citizens becoming president. Trump has thought through the defenses to an incipient Musk presidency.
Jen Psaki noted on Sunday that Trump's need to remind people that he is the head of the Republican Party is a bad sign. See Raw Story, 'Not exactly a statement you want to have to make': Jen Psaki points to Trump problem.
Per Psaki, Musk took to his vanity social media platform to claim that it was the media that was trying to drive a wedge between the two man-child egos.
To be clear, it is not the media that is trying to drive a wedge between Musk and Trump—it is members of the Republican and Democratic parties who are doing so.
On a Sunday talk-show, GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales said,
It's kind of interesting, we have a president, we have a vice president, we have a speaker. It feels like Elon Musk is our prime minister.
While some Republicans may view “Prime Minister Musk” as a positive development, Democrats are taunting Trump over Musk’s status. See Real Clear Politics, CNN Panel: Democrats Mock Trump, Joke About "President Musk" On Social Media.
Does any of this matter? And, if so, will it help Democrats?
I think the answers are “Yes,” and “Yes”—over time.
As Musk insinuates himself into the negative agenda of the Trump administration, he will become a soft target for the blame associated with the heartless, greedy, mean-spirited cuts that will be recommended by Musk and Ramaswamy.
Musk is already being blamed for removing two provisions from the bi-partisan continuing resolution negotiated between House Democrats and Republicans. Those provisions relate to (a) restrictions on investments in China and (b) compensation for victims of “deep-fake” pornography on social media sites, like Twitter. The elimination of both of those provisions will make conducting business easier for Musk and his companies.
While Musk probably did not base his opposition to the original CR on the two grounds noted above, his businesses will benefit from the absence of those restrictions, nonetheless. And it is difficult to think of two more opprobrious victories to inure to Musk’s benefit from the continuing resolution debacle.
Media commentators are portraying last week’s drama as a grand plan by Musk to allow Tesla to make unlimited investments in China and Twitter to avoid liability for deep-fake porn on its platform. See, e.g., NBC, House Democrats say GOP caved to Musk in funding bill, protecting his China interests, and NYTimes, The spending deal Musk helped kill included an X-backed bill to help victims of deepfake porn.
It does not matter why Musk opposed the bipartisan continuing resolution. The fact that his opposition makes it easier for Tesla to invest in China and Twitter to avoid liability to victims of deepfake porn are the only two talking points that matter.
And Democrats are making the most of those talking points—as they should. Weakening Musk weakens Trump which weakens the Project 2025 agenda.
Because he has not been elected, Musk is pathologically insensitive to the political blowback from his actions—which means he will continue to promote unpopular initiatives regardless of the political cost. That will hurt Trump and the GOP.
The American public is rightfully skeptical of Musk. See MSNBC, Maddow Blog | Poll: Much of the public disapproves of Elon Musk’s role on Trump’s team.
And, in a hellish feedback loop, Trump will be driven to ever greater heights of outrageousness to draw the spotlight away from Musk and back to Trump.
We may have seen a smidgen of that feedback loop this weekend—when Trump suggested that the US would seize the Panama Canal. See The Intelligencer, Trump Is Threatening to Invade Panama, Take Back Canal.
Trump's initial ridiculous post drew a reprimand from Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino who noted that every inch of Panama is part of a sovereign nation.
Trump then upped his lunacy by posting a photo of the Panama Canal under a US flag with the caption, “Welcome to the US Canal.”
It is difficult to describe the idiocy of Trump's proposal to invade Panama in order to take back control of the canal. The most rational explanation for Trump's ridiculous suggestion is that he is pulling a PR stunt to draw attention away from the fact that he is losing control of the GOP to Musk.
It is tricky to ascribe rational motivations to Trump's actions, so I acknowledge that I could be completely wrong. But we have seen similar behavior from Trump during his first term.
In short, if insecurity over Musk drives Trump to ever more ridiculous antics to regain the spotlight, that is a lose-lose proposition for Trump and a winning proposition for Democrats—if they are aggressive in their messaging.
If my view is correct, then the chaotic battle of egos that we are watching unfold in horror and disbelief contains the seeds of the GOP’s downfall.
But even when viewed through that lens of optimism, the path to victory will be dark, difficult, and painful. The good news is that we have been here before and prevailed. We can do so again.
In candor, our task today is more challenging than in 2017 because of the collapse of legacy media and the surrender of the billionaire class and business leaders. But we are also more organized and experienced than we were in 2017.
We are equal to the task, and we have no choice. Given those facts, there is little benefit to complaining and great advantage to acting.
Further reading.
As I glide into the holiday (family has arrived), I will briefly recommend additional articles to your attention.
Marc Elias in Democracy Docket, We Are on Our Own. As I mentioned before, Marc Elias is stepping up in a big way to become a leading voice in the opposition to Trump. This essay recognizes the cold reality of our present situation but is also affirming in identifying “us” as the solution. Read it or tuck it away for a moment when you need a boost.
The scandal at the US Supreme Court is worse than we thought—because the justices continue to withhold relevant information. I will circle back to this topic after the holidays. For now, see Senate Review Of Supreme Court Ethics Finds More Luxury Trips, Urges Code Of Conduct | HuffPost Latest News.
Something worrisome appears to be going on with Senator John Fetterman. He is meeting with Trump's nominees—which is admirable. But he seems to be transforming into an apologist (or worse, defender) for the inexcusable actions and statements of those nominees. Let’s hope that this does not foreshadow Joe Manchin 2.0. See The Hill, John Fetterman: Kash Patel said he wouldn't go after Trump's enemies.
Holiday greetings online on Monday, December 23rd
Join Jill and I to raise a glass to the holiday week and the new year. See details below:
Founding Members:
Monday, December 23, 3:00 p.m. Pacific / 6:00 p.m. Eastern – Founding Member Holiday Zoom (You received an email on Sunday afternoon with a link to the Zoom meeting on Monday.)
All Readers
Monday, December 23, 4:00 p.m. Pacific / 7:00 p.m. Eastern –Substack Live Holiday Party for all readers. (No politics; just a moment to raise a glass to one another.) Look for an alert in the Substack App when I start the live-streaming on Monday.
Concluding Thoughts
As I mentioned on my Substack live-stream on Saturday, I receive a handful of emails each week that say, “I can’t do it. I give up.”
I understand the feelings and motivations that go into that statement. It has been a long eight years. Resistance is hard. Emotional reserves are low. We have other things in life that demand our attention and energy.
If you feel that way, I urge you not to give up. Instead, join in community with others. Even if you simply watch a Zoom call or show up for the food and company at a postcard writing session, being with others is healing. Sit in the presence of others who are experiencing the same feelings and going through the same struggles. Community will help you endure until you can renew your engagement. Do not suffer in silence or loneliness. Force yourself to be with others. It that is all you can do at the moment, it is enough.
And if you are one of the people who is ready to rejoin the battle, serve as an example by your conduct and attitude. Use words only if necessary. People will be watching you and taking cues even if you are unaware of that fact.
We are going to make it through this period—together. Every day we endure is one day closer to the end of Trump's term. But we must do more than endure. We must ensure that when Trump goes, the MAGA faction of the GOP is relegated to the fringe, extremist status that it deserves.
Stay strong. Do not lose faith. Join with others in community—if only to watch and listen until you are ready to rejoin the battle.
Talk to you tomorrow (hopefully at the livestream or Founding Members Zoom).
Stay strong!
Daily Dose of Perspective
There is a thin layer of clouds in LA on Sunday evening, so I am re-publishing an image of the Heart Nebula, take in November.
The Heart Nebula is 7,500 light-years from Earth and has a radius of 165 light years.
Enjoy!
Elon Musk got exactly what he wanted in killing the first CR - removal of the Bob Casey/John Cornyn sponsored prohibition against building data centers in China so that he can build his Shanghai data center, Xi's sine qua non for Tesla selling EVs in China, which Tesla's viability as an EV maker and Elon Musk's status as the richest man in the world hinge on. Looking the other way for 12 or 13 hours while Musk swung his wrecking ball was Trump's quid pro quo payback to Musk for delivering Pennsylvania and the election, and Musk knocked off Casey and squashed Cronyn's bid for Senate Majority leader along the way, because the two had erected a roadblock squarely in Tesla's way. This was a brass knuckle bar room brawl and Musk and Trump walked away the winners. There's no wedge between them. They acted in concert. That's my take. And they took out the cancer funding for kids becaise they knew that would horrify and distract the media from their bald blow at bipartisan support for the national security based data center prohibition. Cronyn hasn't spoken up because he knows he'll be primaried if he does. He's watching closely and cowering as Musk buys Texas. This stuff matters a lot.
Robert: Your comments, suggestions, and recommendation to those who feel helpless, feel like giving up ( referring to what you propose in "Concluding Thoughts") are exactly what many folks who may feel discouraged need to hear! When you reach a low point in your outlook, in my opinion, it is not only necessary, but imperative that you reconnect with others, attend a group program, whatever, and if nothing else, at least be there, even if you just show up! The alternative is to risk going into more of a funk. Not to get dramatic, but really to be pragmatic, I refer to Thomas Paine's famous words , in his 1776 essay, The American Crisis, "These are the times that try men's souls" I believe these words are as relevant in our country today as they were in 1776. We will prevail, if we work together , as we have before for the common good, and for the good of this country !
May you and your family enjoy the best of Holidays Robert, and many thanks for your words of wisdom, strong support and continued determination to right a wrong!
Edward Cherlin, M.D.