Two male betta fish can’t share a tank, for fears of them being highly territorial and aggressive to the point of one’s demise. The White House could be poised for a similar showdown, projected Silicon Valley journalist and author Kara Swisher. In her estimation, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and newly re-elected President Donald Trump might be headed for a fallout based on their personalities.
“They’re both narcissists and there can be only one narcissist as head of the country and that’s Donald Trump, who just won the election,” Swisher, who claimed to “know Elon very well,” said to CNN.
“Elon Musk and President Trump are great friends and brilliant leaders working together to Make America Great Again," Trump-Vance Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fortune in a statement. "Elon Musk is a once in a generation business leader and our federal bureaucracy will certainly benefit from his ideas and efficiency." Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A partnership at a price
The duo has become very buddy-buddy throughout Trump’s campaign trail. Musk set up $1 million sweepstakes for those who signed a petition by American PAC, though he was later sued by misled voters who found out the winners were allegedly not randomly selected. His super PAC backing Trump spent about $200 million in supporting the candidate, a source told the Associated Press. Musk alone is said to have spent more than $130 million bolstering Trump.
“Elon is running the ground game for the Republicans,” Billionaire Mark Cuban said in a statement to Fortune. Of course, Musk has vested interest in a friendship with Trump, too. Tesla stock spiked after the election, though has since cooled off.
Musk’s status as the richest man in the world is likely a plus in Trump’s eyes, said Swisher. . “Of course, Trump's attracted to the wealth and the glamor around Elon Musk,” Swisher said, adding, “I guess it’s glamor. I don’t quite know what it is, nerd glamor.”
“A star is born—Elon,” Trump said of Musk the night he was elected, according to the AP. Unfortunately for Musk, some stars burn out fast.
Trump and Musk, perhaps not best friends forever
Barely a week after Trump’s election, it appears as if Musk’s manner is already rubbing some staffers the wrong way.
“He definitely inserts himself all the time. That’s his style, that’s why he’s just suddenly shown up there like the guest that wouldn’t leave,” Swisher said of Musk. She told CNN that she’s heard from Trump people of Musk’s presence already, saying “Oh wow, this is odd.” Swisher assured them that they’re likely to see more where that came from.
Swisher noted that she’s “told that whoever the last person in the room is for Trump often has control of him” and that he “goes through people like tissues, essentially.”
Noting that both Trump and Musk are “really strong personalities who like to be the center of attention,” Swisher painted a picture of a shot clock on their partnership. Everything is about influence for Musk, she added, explaining that he’ll likely be “exerting as much influence as possible in the first critical days.”
But Musk’s presence isn’t likely to sit well with fellow attention-seeker Trump, she said. Even though Trump “owes things to Elon,” the relationship could go south if “he takes too much of the attention,” she noted, pointing to how Steven Bannon was edged out after he was on the cover of a magazine.
It remains to be seen whether Trump and Musk can sustain their relationship without it backfiring. “They’re going to clash at some point,” said Swisher.
