In an interview with Fox host Sean Hannity, Donald Trump found himself in the same spot as his ex-wife - ignored for a younger, newer model. Sean Hannity appeared to be enamored with the billionaire Elon Musk, often cutting of Trump to get more of Musk.
Side note - when has a president EVER done this many interviews with a non-elected official at his side?? Can you imagine the outrage the right would have if a democratic president was even pictured next to their boogeyman George Soros?
During the interview, Sean Hannity underhand tossed softball questions at the odd couple before focusing on Musk. At one point, Trump tried to get a word in by talking about how "Europe is taking advantage of us" before Musk silenced him with a glare. Later, Trump tried to interject to speak to Hannity directly, only to be ignored as Hannity asked Musk whether or not he was “trying to be president, as the media suggests.”
Honestly, watching through the conversation was rough. So to save so you don't have to be subjected to it, I've written a breakdown of the rest of the conversation:
Sean Hannity looked at Elon Musk, seemingly mesmerized, “You are really here because your heart and your passion is this? And the president described you as being—this is the biggest thing you ever done".
Trump's annoyance began to creep up again as he attempted, once again, to participate in the conversation. “There could be nothing bigger. There’s nothing — ” Trump was once again cut off by Hannity.
“You’re sending ships up to Mars—you know, spaceships up in the sky all the time." Clearly Sean thought Elon was some sort of space god, a prophet of profit - Lisan al Gaib? No, something even better.
“That’s peanuts,” Trump muttered.
Hannity continued on excitedly, ignoring Trump, “And saving astronauts. That’s pretty big.”
“That’s peanuts compared to what we’re talking about,” Trump responded, this time raising his voice. He would not be ignored. His interjection managed to break the spell, giving him the one thing he craved - attention. Hannity, confused, and remembering Donald was present asked “It’s peanuts?”.
“Yeah,” Trump responded.
Instead of following up with Trump, Hannity's gaze again went back to Musk. “Do you agree with that?” he asked.
In a voice more controlled than Donald's, Musk responded, “America is the central pillar holding up Western civilization. That pillar must be strong. If that pillar falls, the whole roof comes crashing down.”
Trump again interjected, “Including his ships. Including his ships going up.”
In a last resort, Trump went back to his tried and true strategies: disparaging left-leaning media outlets, and parroting every classic line to make sure the Fox News-loving Republican voter base remembered why they were tuning in in the first place.
Okay story time done.
After the interview, The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols wrote: “Like many Americans lately, I am seized with curiosity about who is actually running the government of the United States. But I am still not sure who’s in charge.”
It's honestly a valid question - Can the same White House that claims that Musk isn’t even the head of DOGE, or involved with the agency at all be trusted to tell us who's really calling the shots from the Oval Office?