The bromance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk is one of the strangest outcomes of the 2024 presidential election cycle, with Musk stumping for Trump on the latter’s successful presidential campaign, and pushing Trump to voters through X, his social network. Postelection, the bromance has continued, with Musk sitting in on a call last week between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The partnership is set to persist into the White House, with Trump announcing Musk as a co-head of a newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, (DOGE for short, a reference to the popular meme coin).
But how long can two combustible personalities peacefully co-exist alongside one another?
“It currently appears that Trump and Musk are now best friends with Trump seeming to rely on Musk’s council regarding various administration appointments,” says Steven Buckley, a lecturer in digital media sociology at City, University of London, who specializes in U.S. politics. “Musk is far more in need of Trump’s friendship than Trump is of Musk’s.”
The two share a number of qualities, says mental health expert and The Cult of Trump author Steven Hassan, who argues both men exhibit traits of “malignant narcissism”—a shared personality trait that prove tricky given Musk will be required to play second fiddle to the president. “As long as Musk kowtows in that framework, I see that as working,” says Hassan. How long Musk will play along, though, is another matter entirely.
Social media expert Matt Navarra points out that both Trump and Musk have a track record of fallouts with business partners or public officials—just look at Musk’s arguments with Brazil and the U.K. in recent months. “Ruffling feathers is probably a polite way to put it,” says Navarra. While the two men certainly share some views around innovation and wokeness, “their shared need for dominance could turn alignment into rivalry faster than anticipated,” Navarra says.
On the other hand, Navarra adds, both men know the stakes involved for their own reputations, and the mutual benefits their partnership can yield. “It might mean that the relationship lasts longer than people might initially expect it to, given the track record of both of these figures,” he says.
Still, one need only look at Trump’s own writing to see how distrustful he can be of his peers. “One of the problems when you become successful is that jealousy and envy inevitably follow,” the president-elect wrote in his 1987 business-advice book The Art of the Deal. Indeed, when two successful individuals try to share the limelight and the reins of power, toxicity can often ensue.