The narcissists’ dilemma

It turns out that the $45 million per month bribe that Elon Musk promised Donald Trump in return for picking JD Vance as Trump’s hair apparent had what is known in contracts law as a just kidding/full backsies clause:

Tech billionaire Elon Musk appeared to pare down his commitment to give $45 million a month supporting former President Trump, saying Tuesday that his giving is “at a much lower level.”

Musk had reportedly committed the record amount to America PAC, which he founded alongside other notable conservative donors. The promise came the same day Trump named Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate.

In a Tuesday interview with conservative commentator Jordan Peterson, Musk backed off reports of the $45 million figure for Trump.

“What’s been reported in the media is simply not true,” he said.

Musk later explained on the social media platform X, which he owns, that he will still back America PAC. He did not confirm nor deny the $45 million figure, or what proportion of those funds would go to backing Trump.

“I am making some donations to America PAC, but at a much lower level and the key values of the PAC are supporting a meritocracy & individual freedom,” he wrote. “Republicans are mostly, but not entirely, on the side of merit & freedom.”

The commitment broke a previous promise to stay out of the 2024 election for Musk. He endorsed Trump last week, shortly after the former president survived an attempted assassination.

Wanna be a grifter?

-Grifter? Yes.

Not partners. That’s your first lesson. Cut your score in half, right down the middle.

Worse than that, you take a partner, you put an apple on your head, and hand the other guy a shotgun.

Grifters, ah?

You’re one, alright. Grifters got an irresistible urge to be the guy who’s wise.

There’s nothing to whipping a fool.

Hell, fools were made to be whipped.

But to take another pro, even your partner, who knows you and has his eyes on you, that’s a score.

No matter what happens.

In the vein of my post yesterday predicting a massive panic in Trumplandia if the race shifts to a point where for the first time Trump appears to be losing (I think such a shift is likely no later than immediately after the Democratic convention), I can easily see Trump dumping Vance around Labor Day, and replacing him with . . . I mean a panicking Donald Trump could do just about anything at that point. Kid Rock? (For the youth vote). Hulk Hogan? (To make the kayfabe truly complete). Ivanka? (Incest as metaphor as Susan Sontag probably did not say).

Anyway, the prospect of Trump and Musk, the world’s two neediest men, going after each other if and when things start going south on this particular reality TV show, is almost too delightful to contemplate.

Related:

I’ve never quite understood exactly why these people are just so weird. I mean Taylor Swift’s popularity is Econ 101 in its purest form, which is supposed to be their god.

Also, I can venture a guess that, based on Shapiro’s previous comments regarding What Women Want, Mrs. Ben Shapiro may have considerably more expertise on the subject of manufactured enthusiasm than her husband.

. . . I just realized who needs to be the headline entertainment act at the convention in four weeks (I assume approximately 45 million people have had the same idea in the last 48 hours).