Why the Trump/Musk Fight Matters
Two unstable men, one democracy
If you spent any time on social media last week, you saw the operatic feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk. You may have even watched it with unfettered glee.
It was the kind of spectacle that’s both impossible to look away from and exhausting to endure. The absurd insults, the chaotic energy, the egos … but also, the stakes. Because while the whole thing may look like a billionaire slap fight, it’s really a proxy war over what kind of power governs our lives: messy democratic institutions or the personal whims of tech oligarchs.
Elon Musk has already deleted his tweets accusing Trump of being tied to Jeffrey Epstein (water is wet). What’s left is a lot of wounded pride and a threat to start his own political party. The drama is absurd, but it’s not meaningless.
Behind the memes and late-night punchlines is a fight between two men who each want to remake the world in their image, and have the money, influence, and fanbase to try.
So, how did we get here?
Once upon a time, Trump and Musk…