Following a series of threats from Donald Trump and other MAGA movement figures stemming from his puerile dustup with Elon Musk, the tech billionaire appears to be trying to work back into the president’s good graces.
Many skeptics — myself included — were never quite sold on the legitimacy, or significance, of the apparent breakup. More than anything, it felt like a petty feud over House Republicans’ spending bill — and particularly, the extent to which Americans must suffer austerity to pay for GOP-backed tax cuts for the wealthy.
But regardless, Musk is making what I’d argue is a rather humiliating attempt to paper over his recent comments, one of which referenced Trump’s past friendship with the late alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. (Musk later deleted the post.)
Apparently, Trump’s biggest megadonor feels he was a little too harsh with his comments, though he didn’t specify which ones.
Musk had been lavishing praise on Trump like a pro-authoritarian cheerleader in recent days, so this mea culpa seemed sure to follow.
Nonetheless, amid Musk’s backtracking and knee-bending, even his father has added insult to injury. During a trip to hobnob with pro-Putin elites in Russia, Errol Musk suggested in a video interview that his son was just acting out because he’s been a little cranky due to lack of sleep.
“They’re very tired and stressed, and so you can expect something like this,” Errol Musk said.
The elder Musk went on to say, “Trump will prevail — he’s the president. ... Elon made a mistake, I think. But he’s tired, he’s stressed.”
As Elon Musk tries to sidle up to Trump yet again, the richest man in the world apparently can’t avoid some public upbraiding by his own father, who basically portrayed him as a mercurial fool for going against the MAGA movement.