“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief
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Despite being a clownish extremist in many respects, Trump has gotten elected twice in part by 1)making crucial rhetorical breaks from the Republican Party on issues like Social Security and abortion where party orthodoxy is particularly politically toxic, and 2)getting any sign of “moderation” taken at face value by a political press always desperate for any sign of a Reasonable Republican Daddy.
Making Elon the de facto president elect completely blows up any strategic moderation, of course, and as JMM observes Trump just can’t get rid of him like he can quickly dispense with his typical lackeys. Elon will still be the richest person in the world who literally owns a major social media site, and Trump has already been elected so he can easily continue to put his lunatic far-right ideas over Trump’s political fortunes. DOGE isn’t a real job; Musk’s power comes solely from his audience, and Trump can perhaps undermine his popularity but he can’t make him just go away.
When Trump is going to figure out what’s happening I don’t know, but it’s not going to end well for him or for the country in the short term.
…via Paul in comments, some serious loser energy:
