Elon x Trump
Elon Musk has made no attempt to hide his politics, especially after his acquisition of Twitter. The usage of the platform in political contexts has anecdotally seen an increase among casual users and a remarkable rise in officiated and polished media. Tucker Carlson moved to Twitter after being fired from Fox. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis started a presidential bid there. Even Biden used Twitter to post the announcement that he was stepping down from the race. Last Monday, and in the days prior, Donald Trump made his return to the website with Spaces, a sort of live podcasting feature.
In chaotic fashion, the stream was delayed, glitchy, and riddled with audio issues that made some listeners think Trump was slurring his words. Musk posted that these problems were the fault of a “massive DDOS attack”, though that has been unsubstantiated. At its peak, the conversation amassed 1.3 million listeners and went on to collect over a hundred million impressions. Despite the technical issues at the start, there’s no doubt that this was a resounding media success for both Musk and Trump.
There are countless outlets and streamers who have already given their takes on the Spaces event themselves. It was, in simple terms, a glaze-fest. Two full hours of softballs and rambling; I doubt many independents actively tuned in. What I think is more interesting is how both Elon and Trump arrived at this unlikely meeting, and what I think about how Kamala Harris should respond.
Flirting with Fascism
In recent years, Elon Musk has floated around the Great Replacement theory and blatant transphobia. A few years ago, Musk seemed far away from this type of rhetoric.
So, where did this rightward shift come from? How did he go from someone that admittedly wasn’t involved in politics to now being one of the most well-known figures for espousing conservative views on a wide range of topics?
To start, being a person in his business and financial position means that politics directly affect his operations. Tesla and SpaceX have relied on government subsidies and contracts, for instance. Musk has been spotted with Obama, Biden, and Trump. He supposedly voted for Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, though he supported Andrew Yang and his UBI plan in the primaries. Elon and Trump have also feuded in public before, with Elon saying Trump should retire and Trump calling Elon out for Tesla subsidies.
There are three driving forces for why Elon Musk switched sides. Business interests, LGBTQ issues, and technological influence. Tesla has a poor track record with unions while Democrats consider them to be a key voting bloc. That difference has reportedly led to Tesla being left out of White House media operations with other car manufacturers taking the spotlight. Musk has also come out against pro-LGBTQ positions after his own child transitioned. In his own words: “My son Xavier is dead”. He’s built a personal vendetta against progressive social stances because of a rift in his own family. Lastly, his positions are tracking with broader movements in Silicon Valley and venture capital. As technology and innovation become more central to the economy, the political interests of these elite are growing in power too. This has led to a sort of diet nationalism of technology-kings as pushed by Peter Thiel and the like.
Taken together, Elon Musk’s rightward shift isn’t unexpected. After the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, Musk confirmed everybody’s suspicions with an official endorsement and the creation of a Republican-aligned Super PAC. After pulling some strings, making a few calls, and waving a couple million dollars, some event between the two was going to happen.
The People’s President?
I say this as an ardent progressive: Trump is really good at appealing to normal people. He’s charismatic, down-to-earth, and still doesn’t seem like a career politician. His long history of tweets (now, truths?) goes a long way to show that he’s someone without a filter. Whether that’s a good or bad thing just depends on if you like what he’s saying or not. That said, I’ve never seen Biden show up to a UFC match.
Sure, a lot of this is just his brand. It’s optics, all for show. But at least he’s willing to have one. The Trump campaign has done a series of social media appearances targeting the under-30 crowd. Trump has joined TikTok, cameo-ed in podcasts, and showed up at livestreams. J.D. Vance has also done the same, though to a lesser extent. This ‘get me in front of alternative media’ strategy is effective for two key reasons. First, it targets either the apolitical or the core of his base. Second, the audiences are young, and the people are influential.
So far, this is working well considering the sheer number of impressions garnered. By being on these outlets, often in a live or unscripted setting, Trump projects competency and an ability to connect with people. Going on Spaces with the owner of the platform is a lot less crazy if you were just on Adin Ross’s stream the week before
Though Trump usually performs better in adversarial contexts, the stint of friendly appearances in the weeks prior has made him seem conversational. Still, I think much of the “interview” itself was a bore. Musk even hinted at getting a position in a prospective Trump administration, which has to be one of the most hilarious and unprecedented job interviews ever.
A Response of All Time
Shortly after the Spaces ended, the Kamala HQ account posted a quick response.
One of the most noticeable differences in campaign marketing strategies so far has been the difference in how social media is being used by both campaigns. Trump is meeting with personalities. Harris is meme-ing with them.
Snappy clap backs aside, Harris has yet to give an interview or hold a press conference. The Trump campaign has taken advantage of that fact, deriding Harris for her lack of media appearances. Trump’s Space was just adding on to that. Instead, Harris has stuck to rallies for public presentation. I think this is a losing tactic.
Trump’s use of alternative media gets average people to pay attention. Even if Kamala HQ is posting more, it goes straight to the base and not anyone else. Democrats have built up a huge war chest thanks to the excitement around Biden’s drop out. It now needs to be used in more than just TV ads. Kamala must do a public interview and needs to show up people’s digital feeds. Memes are effective, I don’t doubt that… It’s just that they’re superficial and for those already ‘in’. Anyone left, right, or center can find Trump on social media and immediately know what he’s about. You can’t say the same for Harris. That has to change if her momentum is to carry forward.