Summary
In a Fox News interview, Elon Musk and Sean Hannity repeatedly talked over Donald Trump, sidelining him in a discussion about government efficiency.
Musk dominated the conversation, warning of national bankruptcy and presenting himself as a savior.
Hannity largely directed questions to Musk, while Trump struggled to interject.
The awkward exchange fueled speculation about Musk’s influence, with some questioning who is really in charge.
Laying low so as not to take as much heat for all this as Musk, so that when Trump is done Vance can be boosted as a more moderate alternative to Trump and Musk’s extreme measures, even though Vance would be just as bad, if not worse. But if they can keep heat off him in this cycle, it will be better especially when things reach the breaking point and people want heads (but still want to vote republican.)
Vance would be worse. He is an actual politician and a believer in the Project 2025 bull shit. Trump probably would not have even run if he had not been staring down 100 barrels of jail time.
I don’t doubt the notion that 2016 Trump ran as a grift and wasn’t really hoping or expecting to win, but 2020 and 2024 Trump had tasted power and definitely wanted it back, in addition to staring down 100 barrels of jail time.
It’s weird how a person so seemingly unimportant hasn’t been converted into a scarecrow, made to vouch for key positions in their plan, etc. This man is either sleaky enough to avoid much of responsibility for what happens or everyone in the HQ forgot about him. His position doesn’t mean much power in the US, but it’s really interesting that he doesn’t get much coverage as a legally second in chief and seemingly abstain from everything while, before Musk got the wheel I thought he would play a key role in advocating for everythng techbros are up for.
There are actually powerful interests that like Vance, maybe more than Trump. Vance is a long term prospect for the moment, I think. Trumps admin likes to stir shit up over here, while building power and planning long term over there. I think historically Trump himself was a barrier to this kind of planning, but it seems like he’s gotten with the program this time around.
I doubt we’ve seen the last of Vance, in all the worst ways imaginable.
This is an interesting take. I always figured if it got to the point where Vance was their number 1 guy, he wouldn’t have the cult leader charisma to keep MAGA together and it would all fall apart. Wishful thinking I suppose. But maybe that’s why they are installing musk to begin with.
He is very unlikeable, but for a lot of people the cruelty a politician is capable of is a big part of the appeal. Won’t make him popular with the masses necessarily, but we can be tricked.
But yeah bringing out Vance early in such a high profile way will probably have the effect of making him look better down the road when the stakes are higher. All that couch-fucker stuff, his history of pro choice comments, they knew it would come out so its better to get it out now than later, when he’s already become part of the “establishment” of the right. No halfway career conscious editor is going to publish old news like that. And then a little more consent is purchased, not as the result of some widespread conspiracy but as the result of a system of incentives and disincentives that generate the kind of irrational self interest that is the only discernable political project of any kind on the right, maybe in the american political system as a whole, though I’m sure that would be taking the point too far.