Trump’s meetings show how powerful Musk has become

It not unusual for Donald Trump's meetings to conclude with spontaneous bursts of applause from his underlings. It is unusual for that applause to be directed at anyone but Trump himself.

- Richard Hall

In front of the gathered press after a cabinet meeting on Monday, it was Elon Musk on the receiving end of the sycophancy. It came after a lengthy tribute from Trump himself, who singled out the “senior advisor” and DOGE figurehead for praise.

“Elon, | want to thank you. | I know you've been through a lot with this horrible situation that happened.

Very unfair.

What he is is a patriot ... He’s become a friend of mine,” Trump said, before threatening terrible consequences for anyone who harms a Tesla.

As Trump spoke, Musk wore a hat emblazoned with the words “Trump was right about everything.” He sat at a table alongside some of the most powerful people in the country with a place setting bearing only his name.

No title was needed, apparently. “He's a patriot more than anything else, He has never asked me for a thing he could have.

I always say, wonderif he’s ever going to ask me for something, and that’s always subject to change, andifit does change, I'l let you know about it,” Trump added about Musk, who currently heads SpaceX, one of the largest federal contractors, which was awarded $3.8bn in government spending commitments last year.

Trump's comments were followed by a lengthy round of applause from the cabinet as JD Vance, the vice president and forgotten fail son of the West Wing, looked on.