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DONALD Trump arrived in Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday to watch one of Elon Musk’s companies test its Starship rocket, as the pair’s bromance blooms.
Since Musk began camping out at Mar-a-Lago after the election, there’s been speculation over when Trump would grow tired of having him hanging around and giving him advice on running the country.
GettyBut Tuesday’s outing was a remarkable display of intimacy between the two, one with implications for American politics, the U.S. government, foreign policy and even the possibility of humans reaching Mars.
“Good luck to Elon Musk and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project!” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media website, while en route to Texas.
Musk spent around $200 million to help Trump beat Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential race, and he’s been given unparalleled access.
He’s counselled Trump on nominees for the new administration, joined the president-elect’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and been tapped to co-chair an advisory panel on cutting the size of the federal bureaucracy.
As well as political influence, Musk could also have some personal benefits.
SpaceX, his rocket company, has billions of dollars in government contracts and the goal of eventually starting a colony on Mars.
He’s also CEO of Tesla, which manufactures electric vehicles, and has battled with regulators over safety concerns involving autonomous driving.
Trump has the biggest possible regard for people who break the rules and get away with it,” said William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.
“Musk has demonstrated extraordinary accomplishment in doing that.”
To top if off, Musk owns the social media company X, formally known as Twitter, which he has harnessed as an influential perch to promote Trump and his agenda.
“Stop the Swamp!,” he wrote on Tuesday as he shared a warning that entrenched Washington interests are trying to undermine Trump before his inauguration.
Before the election, Musk rejected the idea that he was expecting any favors in return for supporting Trump in the presidential race.
“There is no quid pro quo,” he posted on X in September.
With a Trump administration, we can execute major government reform, remove bureaucratic paperwork that is smothering the country and unlock a new age of prosperity.
However, Trump has not gone anywhere without Musk in the two weeks since beating Harris.
Musk joined Trump at a meeting with House Republicans in Washington and sat next to him at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match in New York.
The trip to Texas for the rocket launch will be Trump’s third time outside Florida since the election.
Much of Trump’s activity is happening with little public access for the press.
Unlike his predecessors, he has opted against regularly making his travel plans or events open to journalists.
The relationship between Trump and Musk was not always so close.
Two years ago, Trump was mocking Musk in stump speeches and Musk was saying it was time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.
Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America, Musk wrote on social media.
But Musk swiftly endorsed Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt in July.
He quickly became a central figure in Trumps orbit, appearing at times more like his running mate than Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Trump started boasting about Musk’s accomplishments at campaign rallies, such as when Starship’s reusable rocket booster returned to the launch tower and was caught by mechanical arms.
English (US)