Elon Musk spent $20 million in Wisconsin trying to elect a MAGA judge to the state Supreme Court, just to lose by 10 points on Tuesday. And there are already reports that Musk’s time in the White House may be limited due to President Donald Trump’s patience wearing thin. But if you ask leaders of the Democratic Party, who see the billionaire oligarch as electoral poison, they want Musk to keep campaigning for Republicans.
The Democratic National Committee held a press call Wednesday to celebrate the party’s victory in Wisconsin, encouraging Musk to keep being the public face of the Republican Party.
“We should be putting Elon Musk into every state right now campaigning because he’s actually a huge boon to Democrats right now,” said DNC chair Ken Martin. “And frankly, the American people are quite frustrated with this guy and what he’s been doing since Donald Trump was inaugurated. So the more Elon Musk wants to get out there, I say go for it, Elon. There’s plenty of other states we’d love you to campaign in.”
The chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Ben Wikler echoed that sentiment, pointing out the destruction Musk has wrought as the head of DOGE, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has unilaterally dismantled federal agencies like USAID and fired tens of thousands of federal workers.
“Elon Musk’s spending comes with it the taint of an administration that is attacking Social Security, that is dismantling unions, that is ravaging the Veterans Administration, that is doing things that have always been known to be political suicide,” Wikler said. “And for Elon Musk to then tie himself to Republican candidates is the political kiss of death.”
But Wikler also seemed to revel in the fact that Musk was still in the White House, perhaps betraying the Democratic Party’s tendency to focus too heavily on optics and elections rather than the substance of what Musk is destroying in between elections.
“I hope that he stays at the White House with Donald Trump,” Wikler said of Musk, “that they appear together in the Oval Office, that he dominates cabinet meetings, and that he poses for photos with every member of the Republican House and Senate.”
The posing part makes sense. The Tesla CEO appears to be toxic to regular voters if the vote tally in Wisconsin on Tuesday is any guide—to say nothing of the protests and vandalism at Tesla dealerships around the world. But Wikler’s message that Musk should continue to be involved in day-to-day decisions by the Trump regime clearly runs counter to what Democrats should want. And Wikler may have realized his verbal slip-up, later saying during the press call that he wanted Musk to get stripped of any real power.
“Elon Musk should become Donald Trump’s special envoy for midterm elections and go out and speak on the campaign trail in every possible state in every possible district,” Wikler said. “At the same time, Elon Musk should be removed as quickly as possible from any position of power over the federal government. The damage that he’s doing to irreparable institutions that have served families across the state of Wisconsin and across the country, it’s a horror. Elon Musk is gutting the Social Security Administration, gutting the Veterans Administration.”
Democrats have finally started to push back against Musk in various ways, though some tactics may prove to be more effective than others. Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter Wednesday to FBI director Kash Patel asking for an investigation into Musk’s ties to China. It’s an important ask, given Musk’s interest in interfering with global politics from Germany to the UK.
But Democrats clearly need to remember that this isn’t just about winning or losing elections. The part that really matters is what happens in between those elections. And while Musk might be hurting Republicans at the ballot box right now, he can still do tremendous damage between now and the next election.
English (US) ·