As Markets Drop Facing Economic Chaos , Musk, Not Trump, Is In Charge

A majority of Americans thought they had voted in Donald Trump for US president. But as yesterday's rejection of a government spending bill spurred by Elon Musk's opposition reveals, it is Musk, not Trump, who is in charge. 

Trump only came out publicly against the bill after Musk, who many are now calling co-President Musk, announced his opposition to it - and threatened any Republican who supported it. Markets dislike uncertainty. Having the world's richest man dictating policy to a president-elect whose unorthodox economic inclinations, like tariffs, many already question, is going to inject a significant amount of volatility into an already unstable financial environment. JL 

Josh Marshall reports in TPM:

Trump is following. He’s trying to pretend otherwise but he’s following. And unlike all of Trump’s other bad hires or hires he gets tired of, he can’t just shitcan Elon Musk like the rest. Musk's practically co-President. He is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. He’s got a bigger megaphone. And he’s got his own brand. Musk went off on the continuing resolution spending bill and started a stampede among House Republicans. Then Trump turned against it too. Musk is erratic, volatile, impulsive, mercurial. He introduces a huge source of chaos into the presidency - that Trump doesn’t control.

As you’ve likely seen, things kind of went off the rails today on Capitol Hill. Speaker Mike Johnson had assembled one of those big spending packages to avoid a government shutdown. Then Elon Musk went off on the bill and started a stampede for the exits among House Republicans. Then Trump turned against it too. Then JD Vance. By the end of the day, it was clear not only that the bill was dead. There was a real question about whether Johnson’s speakership will survive the vote for speaker coming up on January 3rd.

But none of those points are the critical ones. This is about Elon Musk.

Trump has brought Musk into the central circle of power. He’s not only de facto Vice President. When was the last time you saw JD Vance? He’s practically co-president. Musk is erratic, volatile, impulsive, mercurial. He introduces a huge source of unpredictability and chaos into the presidency that for once Trump doesn’t control. See it clearly: Musk did this. Trump thrives on chaos, but his chaos. Not someone else’s chaos.

Trump is following. He’s trying to pretend otherwise but he’s following. And unlike all of Trump’s other bad hires or hires he gets tired of, he can’t just shitcan Musk like all the rest. Musk is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. He’s got a bigger megaphone. And he’s got his own brand. I’m pretty sure there will eventually be a really big and really ugly falling out between the two of them. But it will take a while to get there and the costs are potentially quite large for both of them.

Trump has sewn himself into a sack with Elon Musk, a few billion dollars, a cat and a snake, and had the sack tossed into the Tiber. That’s the story here. And it will go on for a while.