For more than 30 minutes on Fox News on Tuesday night, President Trump and Elon Musk spoke effusively and at length about their relationship.
“I love the president,” Mr. Musk declared straightaway. “I just want to be clear about that.” And for the next half-hour, he was. The president, for his part, described Mr. Musk as “a great person,” “an amazing person,” “a caring person” and “a brilliant guy.” They laughed at each other’s jokes. They practically finished each other’s sentences.
But the interview was fascinating for all the things they did not say.
There is a lot more going on beneath the surface of what was presented on Tuesday night. Together, these two men are testing the bounds of the law and the Constitution. Mr. Musk is marauding through the Defense and Agriculture Departments, the national parks and the Federal Aviation Administration. And what does it actually mean that the richest man in the world is now a subcontractor for the most powerful man in the world? None of this was discussed in any substantive way.
The interview was mainly about how much they dig each other. Which does matter, because the longer they stick together — the longer one allows the other to continue on his march through Washington — the more the effects will ripple out to the country and the world.
The Fox News host Sean Hannity pointed out that their foes in the media and in Washington “want a divorce.”