Who’s Really in Charge? Trump’s Cluelessness Exposes Musk’s Grip on Power
Today at a press conference Donald Trump was asked about Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest as his so-called “DOGE” infiltrate the FAA and Defense Department, where Musk has billions in contracts. All Trump could offer was a “Well, this is the first I’m hearing about it” before moving into a word salad of a non-answer that ended with a promo for the Sean Hannity interview. Check out the clip below.
It’s quite stunning that the supposed President of the United States is hearing about Elon Musk’s actions in real time because a reporter asked him about said actions.
But this isn’t the first time. Last Wednesday, Elon Musk met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It had all the trappings of an officially sanctioned head of state meeting. It took place at the Blair House, also known as the President’s Guest House, which is across from the White House. It has office space for the State Department and is where foreign dignitaries stay when visiting the United States.
Yet when asked about it, Trump didn’t have the foggiest. Here’s a snippet of the exchange1:
“When Elon Musk met with Prime Minister Modi earlier today, did he do so as an American CEO or did he do so as a representative of the U.S. government?” a reporter asked Trump.
“Uhh, are you talking about me?” Trump replied.
“No, Elon Musk.”
“Well Elon—I don’t know. They met, and I assume he wants to do business in India, but India’s a very hard place to do business in because of the tariffs.… No, I would imagine he met possibly because he’s running a company,” Trump replied.
Set aside for a minute the complete and utter corruption that is explicitly acknowledged in Trump’s response, how is it that he was unaware that Elon Musk was meeting in what appeared an official government capacity with the head of state of another country? How would the President of the United States not be aware of this? The exchange continued:
“How does Modi know if he’s meeting with a CEO or meeting with a representative of your government?” a reporter then asked.
“Well he’s meeting with me in a little while, so I’m gonna ask him that question,” Trump said.
So, Trump doesn’t know but rest assured, he’ll get to the bottom of it.
This is all coming on the heels of one of the most bizarre press conferences since, well, possibly ever, in which Donald Trump sat impotently at the Resolute Desk while Elon Musk held court with the press telling a lie a minute and admitting that he would be wrong about the claims he knowingly and unashamedly makes.
Just take a minute and image the scandal if during his presidency Biden had held a presser with George Soros in the Oval Office. During this press conference Soros repeatedly lies about the reasons he made unilateral cuts to Congressionally appropriated funds, and then, when pressed, admits that, well yes, he’s going to be wrong from time to time. Articles of Impeachment would have been submitted in Congress before the press conference concluded.
Back to our present reality, where an unelected billionaire is doing all of this with the complete endorsement of Congressional Republicans and a President who doesn’t seem to know what’s happening. I would think that it is far more efficient to be accurate when making cuts. It seems infinitely less efficient to hack and slash departments then end up it court for weeks on end.
That scenario also assumes that Elon is actually interested in ridding the government of waste, fraud, and abuse. But there is no evidence that this is the case. On the contrary, Elon seems far more interested in stopping the investigations into his companies and ensuring that he has a never-ending stream of money and data flowing to him. I mean have you seen the number of investigations that his companies are under for their corrupt and unethical behavior. It’s staggering.
Days before being unceremoniously shushed by Elon’s son in the Oval Office, Trump admitted that Elon and DOGE didn’t need American’s personal information. As The Hill reported:
When asked why DOGE needs access to American’s personal information like Social Security numbers, Trump said, “Well, it doesn’t. But they get it very easily.”
“I mean, we don’t have very good security in our country,” the president continued at a press conference Friday alongside Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
So, DOGE doesn’t need our personal information, but, hey, it’s easy enough to get so what’s the big deal? Quick questions: If they don’t need it then why are they allowed to access it? The answer is obvious: Trump is not in charge. Sure he’ll sign off on Executive Orders (that he has no clue about), and he’ll waste tax payer money to fly to the Super Bowl and do laps at the Daytona 500, but when it comes to who’s actually running the country, it’s clearly not Trump.
In the end, this entire saga isn’t just about corruption—it’s about control. Trump’s feigned ignorance, his deference to Musk, and his inability to offer anything beyond empty bluster make one thing abundantly clear: the real power isn’t sitting behind the Resolute Desk; it’s wielded by those who manipulate the system for their own gain. Whether it’s billion-dollar contracts, unchecked access to personal data, or cozying up to foreign leaders without oversight, Musk operates with impunity because Trump either can’t—or won’t—rein him in. So, while Trump plays the role of president on TV, the real decisions are happening elsewhere, and that should concern all of us.
https://newrepublic.com/post/191558/trump-no-idea-elon-musk-meeting-india-modi