Explosive details about the Cabinet meeting conflict between Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were revealed by the New York Times on Friday.
The exchange, which appears to have come and go with Musk and Rubio's heated cuts to the State Department, has been setting the spotlight on bigger questions about President Trump's more politically questionable moves since returning to the White House.
Initially, the decision to give Musk such a prominent and consequential role was clearly rubbed in the wrong way, even fellow Trump ministers. The Times reported on other tensions between Musk and Transport Secretary Sean Duffy and Veterans Secretary Doug Collins, despite being less flammable.
But beyond personal tensions there is also the issue of drastic reductions to the government, which Musk and his semi-official government efficiency (DOGE) are pushing.
Trump was thought to be mostly keen on the effort, but the scale of the layoffs and the harsh way in which they were enacted led to some pause.
Democrats feel that Musk is the wealthiest person in the world's wealthiest sector, where millions of Americans rely on.
Doge's efforts to enact radical change are consistent with dramatic actions of other quarters in the early weeks of the Trump administration.
That especially applies to tariffs where Trump is unstable even by his standards. This week alone, he said he might have enabled tariffs on Mexico and Canada, then made sculptures for the automaker, then suspended tariffs more widely for a month, and eventually taxing Canadian wood and dairy products.
These swings, and the suspicions they created, have supported the financial markets for most of this week and since Trump returned to power.
The S&P 500 has fallen nearly 5% since Trump's inauguration, but the high-tech NASDAQ has dropped another 7%.
Neither of them are politically deadly, but they sit in fear with the president who boasted about the campaign trajectory about how his business insight will boost the country's economy on “day 1.”
Separately, there is a crisis over war in Ukraine. The intense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky was the most dramatic moment in the process of bringing the US back from supporting Kiev.
Trump's approach has caused a surprise to most of Europe as other countries are trying to find ways to reinforce Ukraine's position on the Russian invasion that began in February 2022.
Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump was particularly slimy about whether he was willing to even provide security assurances to Ukraine as part of an agreement to end the war.
But the human drama of Musk Rubio's clash seems to hold a sure grip on Washington's attention.
According to the Times, Musk attacked Rubio for “no one there” at the State Department, but the former senator only shot back at over 1,500 people shopping, allowing Musk to ask if he wanted him to be rehired, allowing the X owner to fire them again.
Musk also appears to have called Rubio “good on TV,” with a Times reporter saying “a clear subtext… he wasn't many other things.”
Trump continued his oral brawl for a while before backing up Rubio by measuring the weight.
Called for comment on the report, White House Press Office Caroline Leavitt said the cabinet meeting was “great and productive” and “everyone works as one team to support President Trump's promise to make the government more efficient.”
Trump asked about the crash at his oval office late Friday, criticizing reporters for raising questions as “just a troublemaker.”
“Elon is getting along with Marco. They both do a great job. There's no conflict,” Trump said.
Still, the fierce pace and epic pronunciation of the mask seems to give Trump some pause. In a post on social media Thursday, Trump claimed that the government would take “mesrupel” rather than “hatch” the government's mechanism.
“It's very important to cut levels to where they should be, but it's also important to keep the best and most productive people.”
Speaking, Trump also emphasized that department secretaries are “very accurate” in understanding who needs them and who will be fired.
But for all Musk dramas, the real threat to Trump's political position is probably the recession.
Certainly there are millions of more liberal Americans who view him as a danger to democracy itself. But those opponents were not enough to deny him the second season. Economic non-flammableness could potentially keep “soft” Trump supporters slivers away from him.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released earlier this week: 31% Adults who approved how he handled living expenses.
That's why the new job numbers released on Friday morning were lower than the stars.
The number of new jobs created in February has now reached 151,000, just below expectations. The unemployment rate rose by a tenth of a point, up to 4.1%.
Recently, Target and Best Buy CEOs warned that, among other things, prices would increase for American consumers if Trump's tariffs were enacted.
The bottom line is that since Trump took office, unemployment has risen, stock markets have fallen, and tariff talks have been causing chaos.
For all the strength of Trump now, the danger is obvious.
The note is a reported column for Niall Stanage.
