Politicians will have to get used to it.
They will have to get used to rubbing shoulders, at least on social networks, with an influential and atypical actor.
This actor has no codes and does not bother with political correctness. He attacks, mocks, and uses language that few personalities or lawmakers would use in public.
This troublemaker is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (TSLA), owner of Twitter and founder of SpaceX.
The billionaire entrepreneur on Jan. 25 ruled out the possibility of reducing his presence on Twitter, which he considers the town square of our time, a place where trendsetters and opinion makers meet. He's a member of both those groups.
'Let Me Check My Twitter...127M Followers': Musk
"Let me check my Twitter account. Okay, so I've got 127 million followers, and it continues to grow very rapidly. That suggests that, you know, I'm reasonably popular," the billionaire told analysts during Tesla's fourth-quarter-earnings call.
He was responding to a question about how he's carried himself on Twitter and whether he's damaged Tesla's image.
One political party has to be more careful than another: Musk seems to have made the Democrats his favorite targets.
He campaigned for the Republicans: In November during the midterms, he urged voters to back the GOP candidates to create what he described as a balance of power in Washington, which at the time leaned in favor of the Democrats.
"To independent-minded voters: shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic," Musk said on Nov. 7.
He orchestrated the publication of what he called the Twitter Files, which he says contain revelations showing collusion between the platform's leaders and Joe Biden's campaign during the 2020 presidential election.
By attacking President Biden, the tech mogul made clear that no Democrat, regardless of rank and power, scares him.
He has just shown it once again by mocking the Senate majority leader.
'Do You Write Your Own Tweets?'
In a tweet on Jan. 25, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) criticized the tax proposals of the Republicans, who control the House of Representatives.
"The MAGA Republican so-called fair tax plan is the worst yet," the senator wrote. "It’s a real doozy. It would impose a 30% tax on everything. It would be devastating to just about every American family," the powerful lawmaker said.
Musk was quick to comment.
"Do you write your own tweets?" the billionaire asked. "I recommend it."
Schumer has not yet responded. But unsurprisingly, Musk's mocking tweet provoked amused reactions from Twitter users against Schumer and politicians in general.
"Can you add an AI author option?" suggested one Twitter user.
"At 72, do you think he's even aware that social media exists?" added comedian and political commentator Tim Young.
"His donors recommended one of their kids to do it for him," said another Twitter user.
Schumer has been in Musk's crosshairs for several days now. On Jan. 19, the billionaire saw a tweet from the lawmaker as an opportunity to plead for a compromise in order to break the impasse at which Republicans and Democrats find themselves over the debt ceiling. A failure to agree on lifting the $31.4 trillion limit could paralyze the federal government.
"This is not complicated. If the MAGA GOP stops paying our nation’s bills, Americans will be the ones to pay the price," Schumer had written.
"Trimming some government expenditures would be wise," Musk commented, without specifying which federal programs he thought should see spending reductions.
Moreover, the subject of taxes is a sensitive issue for Musk. The progressive wing of the Democratic Party sees Musk and other billionaires as symbols of those who don't pay enough tax.
