Elon Musk’s shouting match with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent might have been the final nail in the coffin for the tech billionaire’s four-month stint in the White House, but it came after months of bubbling frustration at Musk’s “chain-saw” approach to dismantling the federal government.
Musk and Bessent exploded at each other in April when Musk attempted to force through his pick to lead the IRS—Gary Shapley—behind Bessent’s back. (Musk eventually lost this battle—Shapley lasted less than 72 hours before Bessent tapped Michael Faulkender to replace him.)
“Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!” a typically mild-mannered Bessent was heard shouting after Musk as they charged down the halls of the West Wing.
Very much this.
Now it should be noted that Musk is, among other things, a desperately insecure wienie who really is crushed by the fact that basically everyone hates him and spends a great deal of time and effort cringily trying to compensate for it and pathetically failing. So at some level all of this certainly does hurt him.
But he’s also toxically greedy and self-absorbed and wantonly destructive, and by those measures, his government tenure was a resounding success. And that he undoubtedly throws tantrums and goes on crying jags when he’s alone, just like he’s done since middle school, doesn’t make any of the rest of it any less a success.
Which is why I really hope he turns X against the Trump regime lol God I hope he’s petty enough to attack them now