David J. Shourabi Porcel

I understand your comment as implying that Trump will make Musk eligible for the US presidency. If that is what you mean, I agree with you there.

Most of the ultrawealthy seem to prefer having someone else in the political limelight and pulling the strings from the backstage, probably to keep a semblance –however faint– of democratic legitimacy. Musk is being a loud exception, meddling in broad political daylight all over the world, and I would not put it past Trump to enable him as his successor if the two of them stay on good terms and Musk does not become too much of a toxic asset.

the one who should go to the slammer over this […]

Why not both?

Don’t underestimate capital’s ability, through owned press and social media, to create the next Trump. The incentive is there: although the man himself, with his incredible ego, would likely reject any form of successor, the political phenomenon he has spearheaded, with its seemingly boundless capacity to divide and rule and weaken checks and balances, benefits billionaires too much for them to just let it fade into history. In any case, the social soil that has been such fertile ground for Trump will not just disappear when he dies, and the party has been irreversibly remade, with Republicans either falling in line or getting pushed aside. I wish the nightmare he represents would die with him, but I doubt it will.

As far as I can tell, Biden didn’t control Congress. Senator Manchin, for example, effectively watered down the Build Back Better Act that Biden advocated for — and, to my knowledge, Biden never threatened him or any other Democratic members of Congress who resisted his legislative plans with “political consequences”, as Trump is doing to Republican House representatives in this instance.

In establishing himself as the Republican presidential candidate for the 2024 election, Trump seems to me to have set up a sort of cult of personality within the party such that Republicans either fall in line or out of favor.

Presidents and administrations might not be able to dictate specific prices, but they can and do enact laws and regulations that influence or even define the economy. Trump’s proposed tariffs are expected –not just by economists, but by markets, as seen after the election– to raise prices and, if they are enacted and result in the predicted outcome, fingers should be pointed at his Orangeness.

Easy there — you already filled up your quota with Rupert Murdoch.

Careful there — he did kinda simulate blowing a microphone at a rally, so don’t put it past him to abuse vehicles — even those that lack a tailpipe. Given his mental acuity, I bet he prefers a good dose of leaded exhaust, though.

I do. Thank you, @theparadox.