Donald Trump, it seems, has adopted Elon Musk. The Tesla C.E.O. appeared frequently at campaign events and since election night has made Mar-a-Lago his home away from home. He and his mother, Maye, even joined the Trumps for Thanksgiving dinner. So ubiquitous has the self-described “first buddy” become in the Palm Beach White House that Trump has been telling anyone who will listen that he “can’t get him out of here.” In a photo of the Trumps posted to X last month, captioned “The whole squad,” there’s Musk.
Just two years ago, Musk endorsed Ron DeSantis for president. But this summer he fell hard for Trump and, in the months that followed, reportedly spent more than $250 million to help his campaign. Clearly, Trump has a lot to gain from Musk. And Musk certainly has a lot to gain from a close relationship with Trump.
