Elon Musk‘s dramatic fall from grace shows no sign of slowing down, with Donald Trump having stopped mentioning his ‘first buddy’ on social media.
At the start of his presidency, barely a day went by when Trump didn’t mention Musk or wasn’t seen with the Tesla CEO. Having made himself a key part of Trump’s presidential campaign, the world’s richest man became arguably the most prominent voice in Trump’s administration and was made the head of a new department of government efficiency.
However, it seems the relationship between Trump and Musk has soured in recent weeks.
After reports that he would be stepping away from his political duties to focus on his tanking Tesla – and was increasingly seen as a liability by Trump’s allies – the president also seems to have distanced himself from Musk.
According to Politico, Trump used to mention Musk on Truth Social on average four times a week in February and March. But now, he hasn’t mentioned the South African once since the start of April.
The same trend applies to the official White House account and some of Trump’s senior advisers.
The feeling might be mutual as well. On X, Musk used to mention his beloved Trump on an almost daily basis, but now his mentions of the president have tailed off dramatically.
At the same time, new polling has shown Musk’s popularity with the public has tanked ever since he hitched his wagon to the Trump train.
In 2017, Musk had a net favourability rating of +24. This now sits at -19. It’s an even more dramatic drop amongst Democrats, who used to have a pretty favourable view of the Tesla CEO. His net favourability has dropped from +35 to -91 among Democrats.
One Republican insider told Politico that Musk was “finished, done, gone.”
“He polls terribly. People hate him,” they said. “He’d go to Wisconsin thinking he can buy people’s votes, wear the cheese hat, act like a 9-year-old. … It doesn’t work. It’s offensive to people.”
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