In the wake of the catty social media meltdown between President Donald Trump and former “First Buddy” and possibly drug-addled Elon Musk last week, some Democrats are seeing an opportunity to bring the world’s richest and most deranged man back into their tent.
On Friday night’s episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, for instance, Maher argued that Democrats should aim to “win [Musk] back.” He claimed that, though Musk had previously supported Barack Obama and backed Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020, Musk had been “driven into the other camp by bad attitudes and bad ideas.” Now, Maher suggested, was a moment to persuade the “gettable voter” Musk to return to Team Blue.
In a similar vein, influential Democratic commentator Matt Yglesias tweeted on Thursday, “I feel like Jeffies [sic] and Schumer should give Elon Musk a call and tell him about the Democratic Party’s longstanding interest in electric cars, solar panels, space exploration, and balanced deficit reduction.”
But it’s not just center-left media provocateurs who are urging a rapprochement between the Tesla/SpaceX CEO and the Democratic Party. According to reporting from Semafor, progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), whose congressional district includes Silicon Valley, is trying to convince Musk to back Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections:
“Having Elon speak out against the irrational tariff policy, against the deficit exploding Trump bill, and the anti-science and anti-immigrant agenda can help check Trump’s unconstitutional administration,” Khanna told Semafor on Friday. “I look forward to Elon turning his fire against MAGA Republicans instead of Democrats in 2026.
Khanna isn’t the only Democratic congressperson hoping for some kind of reconciliation. On Sunday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) told NBC’s Meet the Press that he would not personally take any campaign donations from Musk, but nonetheless welcomed the billionaire’s help in opposing…
Auteur: Nick French
