Liberals and MAGA conservatives alike asked themselves the same question after yesterday’s “conversation” between billionaire X owner Elon Musk and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump: Is this a good thing for Trump? Does it help him?
Democrats hope not, while MAGA hopes the duo’s combined star power outshines the content, which was a rehash of regular Trump rhetoric, with a dash of a slurred speech and a dollop of the surprise revelation that Trump finds Kamala Harris to be a “beautiful woman” who resembles his wife Melania in a recent picture.
USA Today columnist Rex Huppke — in an article Hillary Clinton shared on X — put the dilemma for the GOP this way: “For a fascism-curious billionaire who loves cuddling up to right-wing loons, Elon Musk sure is good at making right-wing politicians look stupid.”
[NOTE: Democrats who believe it doesn’t take Musk or anybody else to make Trump seem off-kilter — or “stupid” in Huppke’s words — are careful not to presume that his base feels the same way –or that what sounds to them like a failure will be perceived as such by Trump supporters. After all, they thought Trump’s term as president was a disaster and yet 74,222,958 Americans voted for him in 2020, a huge number and, if not enough for victory, still more votes than any other election loser in history received.]
Serious question: Is Donald Trump OK?https://t.co/rbEYPAgeVD pic.twitter.com/Ni7jKu18PU
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 13, 2024
Clinton shared Huppke’s column with the caption “Serious question: Is Donald Trump OK?” — referencing the dearth of mental acuity on display as Trump’s slurred words accentuated his meandering and embittered rhetoric during the long call with Musk, which The Bulwark called a “snooze-fest.”
Clinton isn’t the only one asking and framing the situation as serious. See a similarly themed post from Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) below:
I’m just begging at this point. @DonaldJTrumpJr + @EricTrump — this is not right. Your father is sick. Don’t let him do this. What are you trying to achieve? This is elder abuse to let him do this. He is a former president! pic.twitter.com/W161b6jFxP
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 12, 2024
Background: With Joe Biden’s alleged lack of mental acuity dominating the headlines after the 81-year-old President crashed in the June debate, the 78-year-old Trump’s mental fitness — and questions about it — were deprioritized in news coverage of the election. With the much younger Harris’s ascendance, Trump’s age and acuity are again under the microscope.