A fallout between Elon Musk and Donald Trump is all but inevitable, according to a political commentator, who warned that the attention-seeking personalities of two of the world’s most powerful men means they will struggle to “co-exist.”
Speaking on CNN’s The Chris Wallace Show on Saturday, Kara Swisher predicted that the president-elect, despite waxing lyrical about Musk throughout his 2024 campaign, will ultimately not be willing to share the spotlight with the entrepreneur.
“One of my favorite movies is Highlander, and ‘there can be only one’, and that’s going to be Donald Trump,” she said.
Billionaire tech mogul Musk played a major role in Trump’s campaign towards the end of the cycle, running ground operations in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, appearing as a surrogate at multiple rallies, and pushing pro-Republican content on his social media platform X.
Following Trump’s sweeping victory, Musk’s net worth has reportedly increased by around $12bn.
Swisher’s assessment garnered agreement from host Chris Wallace who drew comparisons to key figures in the first Trump administration, including his former chief strategist Steve Bannon. Several months into the presidency in 2017, Bannon was featured on the front of Time Magazine.
“You know, on this issue of ‘there can only be one.’ I’ll never forget in the first Trump term, Time magazine put out a cover – and there it was in year one, several months in – Steve Bannon on the cover of Time magazine. And I remember thinking, ‘The boss is not gonna like that,’” Wallace said.
Bannon served a four-month jail sentence earlier this year on contempt charges for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the Capitol attack on January 6 2021. He walked free just days before Election Day.
Swisher added: “In comparison to the need for attention between Bannon and Musk – Bannon looks like a kitty cat. You know, Elon needs a lot of attention… and Trump will be irritated by that.”
Swisher previously warned that the bravado of both Trump and Musk would cause problems, saying earlier this week on CNN: “I think it is important to keep in mind that the two of them may not be able to coexist in the same place.
“Elon is very petulant, and so is Trump, and I don’t think Trump’s going to like the attention that Elon is going to grab for himself. He’s an attention sponge like you cannot believe.”
For his part, Musk’s influence in the Trump campaign has caused rumors to circulate that he may be in line for a role in the president-elect’s new administration.
It was reported on Friday that Musk had joined a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
