Elon Musk is ‘behaving as if he’s a co-president & making sure everyone knows it’

There’s a steady stream of reporting from the leaky Trump transition team at Mar-a-Lago. What’s amazing is how much of the reporting is about Elon Musk overstaying his welcome and having delusions of grandeur about how HE is the virtual co-president of the United States. Elon doesn’t even understand that being appointed to lead (alongside Vivek Ramaswamy) the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is nothing more than being sort of in charge of a blue-ribbon busywork committee. Here’s more about how Elon is “overstaying his welcome” and behaving as if he’s “co-president.”

The [DOGE] announcement reinforces the closeness Elon Musk has managed to achieve with Donald Trump, even after the election. But for some people in Trump’s orbit, Musk’s presence has felt overbearing. Musk has been so aggressive in pushing his views about Trump’s second term that he’s stepping on the toes of Trump’s transition team and may be overstaying his welcome at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida, according to two people familiar with the transition who have spent time at the resort over the past week.

The sources said Musk’s near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago in the week since Election Day had begun to wear on people who’ve been in Trump’s inner circle longer than he has and who see him as overstepping his role in the transition. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly.

“He’s behaving as if he’s a co-president and making sure everyone knows it,” one of the people said. “And he’s sure taking lots of credit for the president’s victory. Bragging about America PAC and X to anyone who will listen. He’s trying to make President Trump feel indebted to him. And the president is indebted to no one.”

Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Musk traveled to Mar-a-Lago to watch the election returns come in last week, and he has been there much of the past week, the two sources said. They said he is there at all hours, sitting with Trump and joining calls and meetings. Musk has been involved in sensitive conversations, even before his role in the administration was announced, including having briefly joined a phone call last week between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The second person said that Musk has an “opinion on and about everything” and that he shares them so forcefully that he has begun to pester Trump insiders.

“He wants to be seen as having say in everything (even if he doesn’t),” this source said.

[From NBC News]

There’s similar reporting even in the right-wing media outlets, that Trump’s transition team is weirded out by Musk’s constant presence and his continuous reminders that Trump owes him big-time for all of his fraud and ratf–king during the election. I mean…it’s funny because Elon does own Trump. Just as Peter Thiel owns JD Vance. It’s all pretty terrifying, but also… funny. Trump and his people are absolutely miserable with Elon inserting himself into everything.

Speaking of Elon being horrible, people are leaving Twitter in droves post-election. All of the other social media platforms are seeing surges in new accounts. I’ve had a BlueSky account for more than a year – @kaiseratcb.bsky.social – and I’ve been trying to post more stuff over there post-election. CB has an account too, and she will also try to post more over there in the weeks/months to come. Millions of people are doing the same – BlueSky has added more than a million new accounts post-election, and there are more than 15 million users overall.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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68 Responses to “Elon Musk is ‘behaving as if he’s a co-president & making sure everyone knows it’”

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  1. Mightymolly says:

    TBF he does deserve credit for buying the election, but Hitlerjunior doesn’t share the spotlight. This should get interesting.

    • Mimi says:

      Exactly. He played the long game. He bought a social media platform, which he used to influence hundreds of million, if not billions. of people into supporting trump, the republicans (and their hateful policies and agendas) and hating the Democrats. He knew HE couldn’t run for president, but could use a feeble minded candidate to do his bidding. He bought the election for trump and now trump (and we) are going to have to pay.

      • molly says:

        Yep. I do take comfort in the fact that these two miserable narcissists will quickly tire and loathe each other and yet STILL be tied at the hip.

      • Mightymolly says:

        @Molly (great name, btw!) Did you just write a sitcom spec? Cuz I’d watch the hell out of that. 🤣

  2. Tessa says:

    Sounds like the man who came to dinner play.Sheridan Whiteside who takes over a Midwestern home and never leaves. Though musk is not nearly as bright as sheridan Whiteside

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      And Sheridan Whiteside is not as rich.

      • Tessa says:

        Sheridan was friends with the rich and famous who go to him for advice. Including the Roosevelt’s and celebrities of stage and screen.

    • HillaryIsAlwaysRight says:

      American politics has entered another oligarch era. At least when JP Morgan was heavily influencing our government, he was still an American and a patriot.

      • pottymouth pup says:

        we’ll be a full blown, not bothering to hide it, kleptocracy soon enough

        going so far as to name Musk’s new department so it’s acronym will spell out the name of his stupid crypto makes it abundantly clear that the plan is to tank the economy and devalue the US dollar to shift our currency into Trump and Musk owned crypto

  3. Mirelle says:

    Kaiser sums up everything pretty well, except I cannot begin to tell you how much I loooooaaaathe Elon Musk. I deeeeessssspise this man. I’m leaving Twitter/X for Bluesky this week. Want to say good-bye to my followers. I won’t support anything this cretin touches. Musk, Thiel, and Putin own Trump and JD Vance. So, basically there are 3 people running the WH with Trump and Vance as their puppets.

  4. Lucy2 says:

    Two giant narcissistic egomaniacs cannot exist together. I hope they destroy each other.
    Dumpy also did not get his choice for Senate Majority Leader. I don’t know if it will be enough but I think we will see a little bit of pushback from some Republicans.
    Everything is horrible so I’m taking any little glimmer of good news at this point.

  5. Brassy Rebel says:

    Not surprised that Musk is acting like Trump owes him for the election. He kinda does. With all the disinformation he pumped out, Trump really does owe him. It’s hilarious that Musk is determined not to let anyone forget. And everyone fleeing X like it’s on fire is my one consolation in this election.

    • Mimi says:

      I closed my x account when he bought it and all the white supremacists came out of the woodwork and nothing was done when they were calling people n names and saying BIPoC should be exterminated. It was a bridge too far for me.

    • LarkspurLM says:

      Exactly. Too many egos…

      The bro who owned/operated Polymarket, the betting site, was raided Wednesday. His phone and electronic records were seized. He was bought and paid for by PeterT, who picked Vance, etc etc…. And last week some other MAGAt bro was raided in FLA for fraud, etc. And…where is Vance? These last 10 days have been wild! Bizarro world indeed.

      Stay positive folks…donate, volunteer, spend time with friends and pets… xo

      • pottymouth pup says:

        Russia kinda implied that they divulge how much they helped Trump if Trump doesn’t support whatever resolution Putin wants to the war in Ukraine. Sadly, they could admit to every bit of illegal activity and not a damn thing will happen to them

  6. Mab's A'Mabbin says:

    Bizarro world simply has me in a trance. This is all too much. The first time was too much; this is different. This is when you’re down and beaten and the victors decide to piss on you. We’re being loudly flipped off with every announcement.

  7. ML says:

    Look, not to defend Leon, but I am willing to bet that most people in Trump’s orbit at Mar-a-Lago are trying to be the defacto president. Right Wing sources are complaining about their competition. They all suck.

    • seaflower says:

      I think the difference is Musk is doing it publicly, others are smart enough not to antagonize Trump in public

  8. North of Boston says:

    I swear I am not an Apocalyptic nutter by any means, but doesn’t it seem like we’re screaming towards the end times?

    Or maybe it just that when Troy went to get the pizza, we all were blasted into The Darkest Timeline, where the whole world is LARPing a reenactment of The Stand.

    https://screenrant.com/community-season-3-different-timelines-explained/

    • K says:

      Tbh, I feel like that in a way.

    • OriginalMich says:

      For most of history, human existence has been pretty miserable. It seems we might be reverting to the norm 🙁 I am worried about war and terrorism though thanks to what these morons are going to do to our government’s ability to protect us while also stirring up hatred around the world.

      • Miranda says:

        I have a masters in Anthropology, which has lead me to always keep in mind that humans are unrelentingly, incorrigibly awful creatures and always have been, and that “terrible” is kinda the default human condition and we shouldn’t expect to be the exception to that rule. But God, it’s so damn painful to accept that when we’re talking about MY country. Especially when it’s all so self-inflicted. Like, no need to bother with us, terrorists, Americans can f–k it up so much worse all on our own!

    • Ciotog says:

      You’d think the Christians who voted for Trump would know an Antichrist when they saw one.

    • Mia says:

      There has been wars and suffering all over world for ages and now that it might be our turn it is suddenly “the end of times”?

  9. Oh come on. says:

    May his administration go down in a blaze of infighting, without harming anyone else.

  10. In my crone era says:

    I deactivated my twitter account yesterday once I found out that I could view celebitchy here. Celebitchy was literally my only reason for staying there.

    • Lucy2 says:

      I have an old Twitter that I never used, and I’m trying to deactivate it just to get it out of their numbers, and it won’t let me do it! It’s the weirdest thing.

  11. Olivia says:

    This really is an horrifying experiment in how much and how quickly you can destroy democracy, a nation, and society as a whole.

    And a lot of this could have been avoided if we simply taxed the rich and eliminated PACs.

  12. seaflower says:

    I’m just waiting for the Musk Thiel showdown. Once they 25th A Trump, Musk will loose his power and Thiel will take over.

  13. TN Democrat says:

    Everything is so dark right now. But. Everyone who has ever been in mango’s orbit has been worse off in the long run. Maskrat’s wealth is based on smoke and mirrors, federal contracts and the stock market. The Republican obsession with forcing poor and working class people to pay the majority of the taxes is going to impact the billionaires bottom line when the economy is crashed. Are struggling people going to binge shop on Amazon and buy Teslas?

  14. Sue says:

    “And the president is indebted to no one?” HAHAHAHAHA.
    Isn’t he $500billion in debt? Do we even know who owns all the debt?
    Musk will be gone soon. Egomaniac Hitler won’t be able to stand him for long.
    I was pleased to see that batshit crazy RFKII is publicly criticizing Cheeto’s McDonalds diet as poison. So fingers crossed he’s gone very soon too and our children won’t die from preventable diseases.

  15. Chaine says:

    Musk won’t even last on the team til inauguration. Neither will Kennedy. Too many overinflated egos to clash with Trump’s. I don’t buy the conspiracy that the cabinet will take Trump out, either.

    • NoHope says:

      One thing I will say: the last time we went through this bs, a lot of darkness that we feared was organized evil ended up being chaos and big egos.

  16. Walking the Walk says:

    They will have a fall out by February next year because Elon is an idiot, so is Trump, and Trump hates being told what to do by anyone. Got to love the voters who put us here. SMH

  17. TN Democrat says:

    Everything is so dark right now. But. Everyone who has ever been in mango’s orbit has been worse off in the long run. Maskrat’s wealth is based on smoke and mirrors, federal contracts and the stock market. The Republican obsession with forcing poor and working class people to pay the majority of the taxes is going to impact the billionaires bottom line when the economy is crashed. Are struggling people going to binge shop on Amazon and buy Teslas when prices skyrocket because of the tariffs? The stock market is smoke and mirrors and wealth can vanish in an instant. Muskrat is no genius. He is a loud mouth born with a silver spoon in his mouth who has always exploited others for personal gain, just like mango.

  18. Miranda says:

    This is all so hilariously unsustainable. America dies with not a whimper nor a bang, just bitter laughter from those of us who tried to save it.

    Maybe Trump’s next phone call with Putin should include asking for advice on how to make people “fall out of a window”. Better keep Leon off the line on that one,

    Speaking of Putin, I’m far from a hawk in most circumstances, but I hope PJB manages to give Ukraine the tools to nail the shit out of Russia until Inauguration Day.

  19. Sakura says:

    With Musk “running” Space X, Tesla, Neuralink, Starlink, tweeting all day, and now running the country(let’s face it-Elon is the real soon-to-be POTUS -Trump’s just a puppet)…..when does he ever have time for his 50 billion kids???? There’s absolutely no way he has time for any sort of meaningful relationship with them. Elon is always whining people need to have more children, when he probably doesn’t spend any time with his. Sorry, Elon. Some of us want to be in our children’s lives, so having 1,000 of them just isn’t feasible.

    • Sue says:

      X,’s (Grimes’ son) Grandma, called Elon out on X (the social media platform) for not being around. Elon’s daughter Vivian, who Elon has declared “dead from wokeness” has said that he wasn’t around except to disparage her.

      • Sakura says:

        I absolutely STAN Vivian. She is smart as a whip and wise beyond her years from her posts I’ve seen on Threads. And I don’t doubt for a second all Elon’s kids will come to feel the same way she does, if all the older ones don’t already.

  20. ThatGirlThere says:

    The power struggle that’s going to come is going to a combined Veep/The Purge. What an embarrassing shit show it will be.

  21. Veronica S. says:

    My friend thinks he might try to grab for power and effectively push Vance aside to become dictator of the United States. I actually wouldn’t be surprised. He’s that kind of narcissist, and he has the kind of money to make it happen. Not good for any of us, since he’s a nasty piece of work.

    I will say the funniest possible outcome is a fallout with Trump, and this his administration eminent domains Starlink and the rest of Musk’s businesses to be petty.

    • BlueNailsBetty says:

      Thiel will take out Musk before Musk can do too much damage.

      Thiel forced Musk out of Paypal and he’ll force him out of DC, too. Not because Thiel is good but because he dislikes Musk and doesn’t want the competition.

      They are all evil and horrible and this season of “America” is going to be equal parts awful and hilarious.

      Get your popcorn and drinks now before the tariffs hit.

  22. Grandma Susan says:

    Musk thinks he can take over the Presidency the way he took over Tesla.

  23. Scarlett says:

    You cannot spell FELON without ELON.
    That. Is. All.

  24. Dilettante says:

    Get ready for the battle of the egos.

  25. Sharon says:

    Sitting at the bottom of the continent which is home to many sh1thole countries, it is quite a spectacle to watch. Elon is not stupid, he is exceptionally bright but he is blinded by his own idea of himself, and that makes him stupid and delusional. I don’t for one minute believe that Trump
    will allow Musk to outshine or out president him. Once his use is over, Trump will boot him. Trump is the one and only person who counts in Trump’s life. He stands in no man’s shadow. It helps not having a conscience when you kick your backers in the nuts.
    And in case I come across as pro Musk, I am not. His is loathsome and I truly wish he wasn’t half a Saffa. Despicable person. As is Cheetoman.

  26. Saucy&Sassy says:

    Read what you’re agreeing to with BlueSky. I believe you’ll find that THEY own all of your content. I suspect they’re training AI and who knows what all.

    I think Musk is a Putin agent and there’s a lot about the election that will be coming out. I have a feeling that we’re all going to be going through a very bumpy ride before the dust finally settles.

    • Lucky Charm says:

      Everyone buckle up, because we’re about to go on the real life version of the Indiana Jones ride at Disney. Only instead of a few minutes, it’ll last a few years.

    • Veronica S. says:

      Bluesky is backed by big crypto. As soon as it gets big enough, it’ll collapse, too. I’m keeping my account until the end of the year, but I’ll be deleting it by then. I don’t feel any centralized site is going to be safe, really.

  27. Jay says:

    Wasn’t BlueSky made by Jack Dorsey, who sold Twitter to Elno in the first place?

    Anyway, what are the chances that Trump and Musk will have their first public falling out before inauguration? They are both petulant, high strung and VERY online – a recipe for disaster.

    • Desdemona says:

      Bluesky is owned in part by CEO Jay Graber. Also on the Bluesky board are Jabber inventor Jeremie Miller, Techdirt founder Mike Masnick and Blockchain Capital general partner Kinjal Shah, according to Bluesky. The project was originally started in 2019 by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

  28. Liz Purr says:

    Apartheid Clyde is squatting at Marlardo🤣I’m sure people will start “falling” out of windows soon.

  29. The real queen says:

    I will say it again
    I cannot wait for
    “I don’t know him and I never met him”

  30. AC says:

    Agree about BlueSky, that platform has a much sane mindset. Twitter is now all about right wing trolls and bots just talking to themselves lolZ .
    Notice that Trump hasn’t been yapping much. That’s so unlike him. Because The billionaire clan is running the show, and I’m not talking about Trump(he’s poor compared to these others ). Karma to Trump and his MAGAs(I’ve heard some of them are already having buyers remorse). One thing I learned about corporate hierarchy, it cuts resources that don’t provide them anymore value. Trump already has signs of dementia, I won’t be surprised if they will replace him soon.

  31. Athyrmose says:

    I’m looking forward to watching him in the hot seat at a Senate hearing someday since he doesn’t enjoy the perks of immunity that the Cheeto has.