The corporate media and other Democrat advocacy groups have been desperately casting about for a way to create tension between President-elect Trump and Elon Musk. They know that much of the progressive agenda is in serious danger if the affinity that exists between these two men endures for very long. Beginning well before the election, numerous “news” stories alleged that Musk’s support of Trump created horrendous conflicts of interest. No one outside the Beltway paid any attention. Then, the demise of the 1,547 page “continuing resolution” last week inspired a new narrative — the senior partner in the alliance was Musk rather than Trump.

Wednesday evening, after Musk and countless other critics had denounced the bill as a legislative abomination jam-packed with pork, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took to X and thundered, “Are Republicans beholden to the American people? Or President Musk?” Likewise, when it became obvious that the original CR was a goner, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) chimed in, “Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency.” Not coincidentally, Democrat operative Julie Roginsky appeared on CNN and parroted the party line: “Elon Musk is puppeteering Donald Trump.” Mike Allen at Axios absurdly claimed that Musk was “the most powerful person in politics” and that he had “single-handedly” put paid to the spending bill.

Never mind that Trump, J.D. Vance, Vivek Ramaswamy, and three dozen House Republicans collectively declared that a government shutdown was preferable to passing the monstrosity that House Speaker Mike Johnson presented for a vote. The legacy news media, however, was interested in only one facet of the CR story — that Musk had the temerity to shine a spotlight on the scam and suggest that voters should contact their representatives in Congress and share their feelings about it. In other words, he did what a truly free press corps would have done itself had it not been co-opted by the Democratic National Committee. Thus, Bloomberg’s Nia-Malika Henderson portrays Musk in the following portentous terms:

Musk, with his billions and his global reach via X, is unlike anyone else in Trumpworld. Casting off cabinet secretaries and the likes of “Sloppy Steve” Bannon was much easier. Those people didn’t have Musk’s reach or celebrity — or his billions. They were sycophants who needed Trump more than he needed them. By contrast, Musk confers status on Trump by being by his side. He broadens Trump’s reach and his power. Put simply, Musk makes Trump bigger. Some Republicans have suggested that Musk should be the next speaker of the House, yet this would be a major step down.