this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2025
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Summary

In a Fox News interview, Elon Musk and Sean Hannity repeatedly talked over Donald Trump, sidelining him in a discussion about government efficiency.

Musk dominated the conversation, warning of national bankruptcy and presenting himself as a savior.

Hannity largely directed questions to Musk, while Trump struggled to interject.

The awkward exchange fueled speculation about Musk’s influence, with some questioning who is really in charge.

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[–] jballs 59 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Just goes to show, Trump is not the cause of the disease, he's a symptom. Trump could be Luigied tomorrow and the problems with the Republican party wouldn't disappear. They are completely owned by billionaires.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 day ago

The billionaires own establishment Democrats as well. See Bernie 2016. MSNBC treated Bernie worse than Trump 2024.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

Trump is still important. He's the person at the center of the cult they've built their power on.

[–] [email protected] 82 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Trump is waxing and waning. The man is 80 and looking quite unhealthy. When geriatrics start to wax and wane there are recognizable patterns but it can vary a bit by personality. Biden and Trump are the same in that respect.

What waxing and waning means is you can have a perfectly normal exchange with Biden on day 1 and on day 2 get the debate performance and on day 3 get perfectly normal again. Inertia and habit carries people a lot further and longer than you think, depending on what they spent most of their lives doing. It’s not uncommon to have career domination in this inertia.

I suspect Trump will look much more odd and awkward than Biden going forward.

High odds it’s one reason Elon is with him and the interview isn’t solo, so Elon can be a handler of sorts and talk over him rather than having Trumps Biden moments on full, singular focus. One of the other reasons, ofc, is to maintain this idea that they are the same person in power, to keep that tight association going.

My personal theory with zero hard evidence to back it is that Trump does his disengagement thing when his internal pacemaker with defibrillator zaps him. And that he’d be dead already without it.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I like that defibrillator theory, though usually I've seen patients react with pain when it goes off. Maybe the disengagement is him going into v-tach and his blood pressure tanking before it pops him.

As for Musk covering for the dementia, I doubt it. If you look at Trump's transcripts over the years, he's had a propensity for dementia soup when he speaks for a while now, but his supporters just dismiss it, hear what they want, and say it's fake news. I don't see why they'd suddenly be worried about it now. No, this is Musk just plain old taking the driver's seat.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

People with dementia have increasing difficulty following conversations, especially with multiple people, as the dementia gets worse.

It could be that Trump just can’t follow the conversation well. They’re not covering so much as Trump can’t handle so many people talking.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

This fits that YMCA dance party he had in lieu of a town hall.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 day ago (9 children)

Honestly where the fuck is JD Vance? Isn't he the vice president? Musk is always next to Trump, I haven't seen Vance one time

[–] [email protected] 62 points 1 day ago (1 children)

He's on a world tour, convincing our allies they need to band together against the US

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Yeah he went to Munich and gave a speech where he scolded our European allies for criminalizing or de-legitimizing Nazi political parties. Europe immediately started leaning into the EU Army concept.

Great job JD.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Did you see the clapping? Vance's support team were clapping for him, while all the European delegates just stared stone faced.

So bad it's got its own wiki page https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_JD_Vance_speech_at_the_Munich_Security_Conference

[–] rustydrd 19 points 1 day ago

Especially this part, which he apparently intended as a "joke":

(...) if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk

Thunberg is an activist from Sweden who owns a social media account. Musk is a billionaire from Apartheid South Africa who owns a social media company and actively interferes in German elections.

Needless to say, the joke didn't land.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Cause we think he’s a fuckwit.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

Nonono, he is a fuckwit. You guys just recognize it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

History being written before our eyes

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

JD really trying to show the world what to avoid. Reminds me of my dad. See him and do the opposite.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Laying low so as not to take as much heat for all this as Musk, so that when Trump is done Vance can be boosted as a more moderate alternative to Trump and Musk's extreme measures, even though Vance would be just as bad, if not worse. But if they can keep heat off him in this cycle, it will be better especially when things reach the breaking point and people want heads (but still want to vote republican.)

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Vance would be worse. He is an actual politician and a believer in the Project 2025 bull shit. Trump probably would not have even run if he had not been staring down 100 barrels of jail time.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

I don't doubt the notion that 2016 Trump ran as a grift and wasn't really hoping or expecting to win, but 2020 and 2024 Trump had tasted power and definitely wanted it back, in addition to staring down 100 barrels of jail time.

[–] andrew_bidlaw 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's weird how a person so seemingly unimportant hasn't been converted into a scarecrow, made to vouch for key positions in their plan, etc. This man is either sleaky enough to avoid much of responsibility for what happens or everyone in the HQ forgot about him. His position doesn't mean much power in the US, but it's really interesting that he doesn't get much coverage as a legally second in chief and seemingly abstain from everything while, before Musk got the wheel I thought he would play a key role in advocating for everythng techbros are up for.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

There are actually powerful interests that like Vance, maybe more than Trump. Vance is a long term prospect for the moment, I think. Trumps admin likes to stir shit up over here, while building power and planning long term over there. I think historically Trump himself was a barrier to this kind of planning, but it seems like he's gotten with the program this time around.

I doubt we've seen the last of Vance, in all the worst ways imaginable.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

Trump was being honest when he said Vance didn't matter and wasn't going to do anything in office anyway.

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Man, I never knew that the price to make Trump your bitch was so low.

Like the public could just GoFundMe $400M and have him as a public servant once again.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 day ago

Except he has this thing where he acts like the unseen person in high school who was just noticed by the popular crowd when people he perceived as important or popular notice him: Elon, Saudi Arabian princes, Putin, etc

We The People hold no such sway.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I don't think it's just the money. He is deeply insecure, and I think that, in many ways, he actually craves the approval of what he sees as "the popular kids" (in his mind, the wealthiest man in the world is the #1 popular kid. Like the homecoming king in an 80s movie)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

No, unless an individual controls the money, it would just be added to Trump's pile and nobody else would get anything out of it.

[–] [email protected] 68 points 1 day ago (2 children)

"National bankruptcy". We literally print the fucking money ex nihilo.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 day ago

Careful, using fancy Latin words might get you labeled as one of those "intellectuals," or an "illegal" from Latin America.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

“Did you see that high-scoring basketball game last night? The referee gave out so many points, he had to declare bankruptcy!”

[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 day ago (2 children)

When the fallout happens between Trump and Musk, Trump may find it difficult to get rid of him since he has handed so much power to Musk (via write access to government databases).

There will come a point where he literally won't be able to get rid of him once control of the law enforcement arm goes to Musk.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If we're lucky they'll destroy each other entirely.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I promise you, they would take America with them. Willingly, out of spite, if nothing else.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago

We're already going down. Better that they do with the rest of us.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I'm willing to let them take exactly half of America down with them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I don't think this is true. I think there are multiple avenues for which Musk could be prosecuted if Trump wants him gone. All he has to do is say the word and Musk will be in jail on the same day.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So when Harris has Walz do a sit down interview with her, people lost their mind - but this is okay?

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 day ago

Transcribed as..

Leader of the free world: -"Right" -"Europe" -"Europe" -"There could be nothing bigger. There’s nothing —" -“That’s peanuts compared to what we’re talking about,” -“Including his ships. Including his ships going up.” -“Sean, you’re a... ”

Hannity: *dismissively - “This is important,” *continues to talk to Musk.

*Trump utterly humiliated rambles under his breath.

Who is the alpha here? What a joke not to mention Elon's talking points are 100% contradictory.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Wow - that was indeed a lot more awkward that i would have thought he'd accept

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 day ago

He’s a senile geriatric, he has no clue what decade it is, let alone what the fuck is being talked about. He was told to sit there and shut up so he wouldn’t ramble or say some stupid nazi shit and let the big boys talk. So he did, and we get to see who the real boss is.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago

Hannity knows who his boss is now.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

Anyone have a direct link to the video? I can’t get it to play on the page.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So....

Time to musk impregnating ivanka or needing to buy her a horse?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

Pretty sure she's already cucked him more than once, and at least once with him in the room. Hell, he probably serves her up like an hors-d'oeuvre and his daughter like dessert.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

He's gotta keep telling himself he's in charge so he feels good

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

Musk is president why would Hannity bother with that other guy

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)
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