National political correspondent Maggie Haberman weighed in Wednesday on the relationship between President-elect Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, saying the unique nature of the partnership could mean the partnership could “last quite a while.” suggested.
Asked by CNN's John Berman how things are going in their relationship, Haberman suggested that despite the criticism, the two still seem to be hitting it off.
“You know, the stands…we're in a good place right now. Certainly, right after Election Day, there were a lot of complaints from people around Trump that there was too much Elon Musk. He sat in the transition meeting. “But some people weren't sitting down.'' I don't care if he's there,'' Haberman said. said Wednesday evening. With “AC360”.
“But even if Trump is tired, he doesn't say it particularly publicly,” she added.
Her comments come as the president-elect and SpaceX owner have grown closer since Musk endorsed Trump for the White House after the first-ever assassination attempt during a campaign rally earlier this year. It was held in the middle of the day. He also stumbled with Trump on the campaign trail, drawing scrutiny over a $1 million gift he promised to Pennsylvania voters who signed a petition from a pro-Trump PAC supporting free speech and the right to bear arms. .
Earlier this month, President Trump appointed Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to a new “government efficiency package” aimed at “cutting overregulation, reducing wasteful spending” and reorganizing federal agencies. He was appointed within the administration as the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DOGE).
DOGE will “provide advice and guidance from outside the government” and work with the White House Office of Management and Budget, the president-elect said.
“This could potentially become a modern-day Manhattan Project,” President Trump said in a statement. “Republican politicians have long dreamed of DOGE goals.”
In an interview Wednesday, Haberman acknowledged that the president-elect and Musk have something in common: wealth.
“From what I've seen…the reason Trump is so irritated here and there is because he doesn't like people who stay with him too long,” Haberman, a senior reporter at the New York Times, told Berman. spoke. “And what the people around him have come to realize over time is that scarcity is a commodity to them if they want to live a long life with him.”
“Mr. Musk is also the richest person in the world, or one of the richest people, depending on the day, and Mr. Trump has a great interest in wealth,” she continued. “I actually think this relationship could last quite a while because, as you pointed out, Mr. Trump equates wealth with intelligence.”
The relationship also raised eyebrows among some Republicans, especially after Musk joined the Trump family for a photo op after his Election Day victory. Some question how long the two sides can coexist, especially given the former president's past complaints about people hogging too much of the spotlight.
“Trump is not going to get another alpha. I think he's going to get tired of him,” one source close to the transition told The Hill earlier this month.
A Republican lobbyist with ties to the president-elect also said some Trump supporters think Musk, the owner of social platform X, is “a little too big for his bitch.”
The Hill has reached out to Trump's transition team for comment.
