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America did not elect Elon Musk. However, he is working as Donald Trump’s co-president. Musk’s self-appointed gun for power includes regime change in a coalition democracy. They have repeatedly said that only the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) can save Germany in next month’s elections. Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor government in the UK is calling for an end. And 211mn X asked his followers, “America must liberate the British people from this tyranny.” The consensus seems to be yes.
To say there is no precedent would be an understatement Such a relationship Between the US president and the world’s richest man. History provides no guidance for such a ledger, let alone half the money, to be openly shot at overthrowing the Allied Powers. America’s billionaires—the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Carnegies—didn’t perform as well as the presidents of their time. Their wealth of stories is no match for Musk. JP Morgan was worth $49 billion in today’s dollars. Henry Ford, who had a soft spot for European fascism, is worth close to $200 billion. Musk’s wealth has more than doubled. Ford was not impressed with his White House contemporary, Franklin Roosevelt.
In contrast, the past is when America meddled in the politics of other countries. Except for the CIA’s bag of tricks after the war, Washington’s intervention to oust the Communists in continental Europe alienated allies. The question now facing governments in Berlin, London and Paris is how to respond to this novel threat. Is Musk talking to Trump? In this case, the West is as dead. Or is he testing the waters? That gives Western capitals ample opportunity to capitalize on the differences between Trump and Musk. The answer is probably a mix of the two.
What Musk doesn’t say is as significant. He like He beat Germany and EnglandMook’s silence on Russia and China speaks volumes. Musk has never spoken out against political prisoners or oppression under either regime. Yet the far-right has lionized British thug Tommy Robinson as a prisoner of conscience. Mook was almost certainly not motivated by charity for British children who were victims of gangs of mostly British-Pakistani origin. The UK’s child care scandals have spanned more than two decades, almost throughout the Conservative government’s time in office. Musk had nothing to say then.
Since Labor came to power, the welfare of Britain’s children has suddenly become its obsession. He branded Jess Phillips, a minister in the Starmer government, a “rape-genocide apologist”. He also said that more than a quarter of a million British children are being systematically abused. You need an AI-scaled polygraph to capture all of Mask’s distortions. At a rate of one per minute, the velocity of the posts is greater than their shock value. Nowhere did Musk express his concern. Approximately 20,000 Ukrainian children They were kidnapped from their homes and forcibly taken to Russian families.
Britain, Germany and others would have been able to handle this agitation if it had been Musk’s alone. The British public’s dislike of Musk places limits on his influence. Fewer than one in five British respondents view him favorably, according to a recent YouGov poll. Musk was also inadvertently supported. In calling for Nigel Farage to be removed as leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, he missed that Reform was Farage’s personal vehicle. Mook’s call for King Charles to dissolve Parliament reinforces questions about his ignorance. Elected governments are not sovereign over when a UK general election will be called. Musk’s influence on Germany – and knowledge about it – may be even less.
Musk’s silence on China is easy to understand. His Tesla company has big jobs that he doesn’t want to risk. Trump’s default approach is marketing to the world; China’s policy is still in place. In contrast, Musk emphasizes Trump’s admiration for Vladimir Putin’s Russia and disdain for Europe. It’s rash to think Musk is messing around. Or it’s not just about money. The Trump-Musk antagonism to European liberal democracy is true. Trump’s impatience to end the war in Ukraine is conveniently shared by Russia. AfD promises to end German aid to Ukraine. Starmer increased British aid.
The eastern part of the Atlantic alliance thus faces a journey without a map. The European habit is always to hope for the best. In this case, he should plan for the worst.
