Some Democrats see Elon Musk as an ideal foil. But not everyone agrees.
As Washington prepares for the second inauguration of Donald Trump, Democrats are locked out of power, stuck reckoning with the fact that despite years of pushback and plotting, their chief political antagonist has only grown stronger and more popular and rendered them a minority party.
Some, though, see glimmers of hope in a newer line of attack — one aimed not at the president-elect himself, but at the wealthy friends flocking to support him.
They have suggested that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is expected to roll out his so-called Department of Government Efficiency from an office in the White House complex, is really calling the shots. They plan to invoke the president-elect’s billionaire allies as they gear up for a fight over Trump’s proposed tax cuts. And they’re anticipating an irresistible opportunity to further highlight those connections when a trio of billionaire tech executives — Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos — could well be front and center at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
“We are approaching this administration, and the 13 billionaires they put in their cabinet, with the opinion that, ‘Are you going to work for the American people?’” said Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 House Democrat. “Are you going to meet us and work to lower costs, or are you going to feather your own nest?”
It’s a strategy that suggests that, despite President Biden’s low approval ratings and waning influence, his farewell warning Wednesday night about an emerging “oligarchy” and the “tech-industrial complex” could have some resonance in a party that desperately needs to recapture the working-class voters it has lost to Trump.
But it’s not without risk, given the popularity of some of those billionaires: While Musk may be seen as a Bond villain by some, he’s still Tony Stark to many others.