Addition by subtraction?
Possibly.
When you remove a negative, your net score increases. And the bottom line is, Elon Musk is probably the most hated man in America right now.
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More hated than Puff Daddy. More hated than Harvey Weinstein.
I’ll lay my cards on the table: I’m an Elon Musk fanboy. I even replaced my (beloved) Alfa Romeo with a Tesla Model S. Personally, I think Musk is the most important industrialist since Thomas Edison — and by the time he’s done, he’ll be in a class of one. When you’ve completely revolutionized the world of digital payments, global internet, electric cars, space travel, and artificial intelligence, you deserve the benefit of the doubt.
But he’s also a deeply flawed guy. He’s petty, high-strung, and about as emotionally stable as Charlie Sheen at Burning Man. The bright light of his angels contrasts dramatically with the ebony shadows of his demons.
And that’s fine. We don’t need our visionaries to be saints. We don’t even need ‘em to be likeable. In fact, it’s better when they’re not.
That way, we can toss ‘em in the garbage when we’re done.
The political class uses business leaders the way business leaders use employees: They’re expendable pawns. Burn ‘em, churn ‘em, and start again.
In the aftermath of the Musk-Trump meltdown, a sense of sadness has blanketed the GOP. The partnership between the two billionaires had already reaped vast dividends: Control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives! The DOGE initiative! The power of Big Tech!
It’s a shame it had to end.
But it had to. Elon Musk forced his own exit when he trolled and trashed the White House. As we noted yesterday:
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Look, even if there was merit to Musk’s grievances (and there are), his tactics, approach, and outcome were outrageously inappropriate. The Big Beautiful Bill passed 215 to 214! It took every last GOP vote — and the untimely deaths of multiple Democrats(!) — just to get it over the finish line.
If this is the hill Musk wants to die on, that’s his choice. But if the votes aren’t there, it’s a senseless death.
No matter how much he screams, posts, or threatens, he’s not gonna get what he wants.
The. Votes. Are. Not. There.
Sorry, but you can’t accuse the President of the United States of being a pedo-rapist from Epstein Island and still access his inner sanctum. Doesn’t matter if you delete the X post a few days later; the damage was already done.
But it’s not Trump’s reputation that was most damaged. It was Musk’s.
We now have polling data on the Musk-Trump feud. (Credit to my colleague, Matt Margolis, for breaking this story yesterday.) When asked “If you had to choose, who would you side with more,” nearly 3 out of 4 Republicans — 71% — sided with Trump.
Just 6% sided with Musk.
The world’s richest man isn’t doing much better with the independents he’s been courting with his “America Party”: Only 8% of independents sided with Musk! (By MORE than a 2-1 margin, independents are actually siding with the president.)
The Democrats aren’t too excited about siding with Musk either. Here, only 11% sided with Musk over the Evil Orange Monster who was “literally Hitler!” (86% supported “neither” or “not sure” in their feud.)
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Ouch!
Of course, liberals have hated Musk for a while now. According to a Pew Research poll, 85% of Democrats and/or Democratic-leaning voters view him unfavorably.
Interestingly, only 5% of women sided with Musk over Trump. (Trump’s female support was more than 5 times higher than Musk’s! That’s noteworthy, because MAGA usually underperforms with female voters.) The president also beat Musk in every age/ethnic/regional demo category.
And not-so-coincidentally, Trump’s most recent poll numbers have been on the upswing of late. Newsweek just published, “Donald Trump Approval Rating Update: Support Hits Highest Level in Months.”
From the article:
If the president’s approval rating continues to rise, it could bolster Republican momentum and complicate Democratic strategy heading into the 2026 midterms.
The numbers from May are also significantly better than Trump’s average over the 48 months of his first presidency (41 percent), surpassing Biden’s average approval rating for his full term (41 percent) and his approval rating for his final year (40 percent).
Trump’s high-profile immigration crackdown is also winning with voters: CBS News reported today that 54% of Americans approve of Trump’s policies. (According to one poll, Trump’s popularity with Hispanics is at an astonishing 59.6%.)
Elon Musk has served his purpose, and he served it well. Maybe even too well, because he became the liberals’ go-to scapegoat. From AOC’s “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to using Musk as their strawman in Wisconsin, he became the weak link that the Democrats were openly targeting on the campaign trail.
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The Dems made no bones about it:
Musk’s approval ratings consistently lag behind Trump’s, and the president has repeatedly had to defend his senior adviser as Democratic messaging has coalesced around criticism of Musk as an unelected “oligarch.”
“He’s becoming electoral poison,” said Evan Roth Smith, a Democratic pollster. “The Democratic Party is going to make Elon a central issue in its messaging, as it should, and Democrats are getting better at focusing on what matters to voters, which is the threat he poses to entitlements.” [emphasis added]
Throughout the campaign, Democrats strategically positioned Musk as the primary antagonist, framing his substantial financial contributions as an attempt to “buy” the election. [emphasis added]
Musk is a victim, but he contributed to his PR woes via his naivety, temper, and stubbornness. He tried to play the political game on his own terms, but American politics doesn’t bend for anyone. It’s just too damn big.
Instead, you must conform to it.
As a result, he weakened his own brand. And now he’s gotta rebuild it.
If anyone can, it’s Elon Musk.
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