Trump likes having Musk as an attack dog and a scapegoat. [View all]

[speak easy]

Trump said to see Elon Musk as useful activist after spending deal showdown

Donald Trump’s relationship with Elon Musk is showing no signs of fraying, even after at times he appeared to eclipse the president-elect’s influence as he bullied House Republicans into paring down their bipartisan spending deal to avert a government shutdown with just hours to spare.

The move by Musk to detonate the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb – by demanding that Republicans sink the deal or face a primary challenge – was viewed as a test run of the kind of role Musk might play to pressure Congress once Trump takes office, people familiar with the matter said.

The consensus view at Mar-a-Lago was that Musk proved an effective cudgel to pressure Congress and a scapegoat for any backlash, the people said.

... although House Democrats mocked Trump as acting like the vice-president with Musk as the president, in an attempt to get under his skin, the extended honeymoon between the two men has continued – in another notable shift for Trump, whose political alliances often lack for longevity.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/21/trump-elon-musk-spending-deal