CNN
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Elon Musk’s personal foreign policy of promoting far-right parties has drawn the ire of European leaders, who wonder how to rebuke the tech giant without angering its new patron, Donald Trump. I have a dilemma as to what to do.
Mr. Musk may be easily dismissed as a mischievous adversary who simply likes to shock and pursues X posts one at a time.
But he’s more than just a troll. He is the richest person in the world, owns some of the world’s most strategic and influential companies, and controls a powerful social media network. Mr. Musk emphasizes his enormous influence as a populist force that inspires a kind of political provocateurs who alone possess a kind of supranational, non-state power.
He also foreshadows the international turmoil and potential conflicts of interest that will await the president-elect when he returns to the White House in two weeks. That’s because the Tesla and SpaceX pioneer will not just be a powerful free agent, but the head of the Department of Government Efficiency and an insider advisor to the new U.S. administration. So it will be difficult to know where Musk’s policies end and formal US foreign policy begins.
To foreigners, his attacks on elected officials with whom he disagrees are interpreted as an attempt by a future U.S. government to interfere in the politics of democracies and sovereign nations to destabilize their governments. There is danger.
And his moves have implications for whether he’s acting at Trump’s direction, whether he’s seen by the president-elect as a useful vanguard of disruption, or whether he’s quick to anger the 47th president as he seeks to make his mark on the world. The question has arisen as to whether there is a possibility that the
“Will Musk carry out Trump’s foreign policy agenda and act as Trump’s personal ambassador everywhere?” Lindsey Gorman, Managing Director and Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund he said. “Or will Mr. Musk seek to advance his own vision of world affairs, which may align with President Trump in some respects but not in others? And will those two forces What will happen to the relationship?”
President Trump’s acceptance of Mr. Musk’s vitriolic attacks on coalition leaders also signals that the coming months could be even more difficult for America’s friends than the president’s first term. That reality became reality on Monday when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation. Prime Minister Trudeau long ago squandered the trust of Canadians and his own Liberal Party. But President Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs may have exacerbated the political crisis in Ottawa and hastened the ouster of his opponent, whom Trump has dubbed the “governor” of the nation’s 51st state.
The apparent sense of freedom that Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk feel as they conduct their political activities abroad is also a sign of the MAGA community’s confidence ahead of Mr. Trump’s inauguration. They are demonstrating a belief that their strength can bully smaller countries into a new and bold embodiment of America First.
Mr. Musk’s attack, communicated to X’s 211 million followers, shattered the patience of the leaders of America’s closest traditional allies and sent the Atlantic, which was already on the rise ahead of President Trump’s second term. The tension that had already been overcome was heightened even further.
— British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been a target of Musk for weeks, after saying the British minister responsible for child protection should be jailed and is an apologist for rape. , warned that SpaceX’s owner had crossed a “red line.”
— French President Emmanuel Macron accused Musk of inciting a new “international reactionary movement” and interfering in the election.
— Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gare Stoer said it was “concerning” that such a powerful figure was directly involved in the affairs of another country.
– The German government has already criticized the billionaire for supporting the far-right pro-Russian party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in upcoming elections. Musk is scheduled to give an interview to party leaders to X this week.
The outrage that Mr. Musk has provoked reflects the core ideology of President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. He is going after establishment politicians and trying to promote far-right outsider populists who share the same mindset and temperament as the next president. As in the United States, many voters in Europe are angry at governments that have failed to improve economic conditions or stop immigration.
For many Americans, Musk is simply exercising his First Amendment rights. But in a continent plagued by fears of far-right extremism, many say his support for radical populism is offensive and an attempt to suppress freedom and democracy rather than an example of free speech. being watched by the instructor.
If there is a strategy to Mr. Musk’s mob rousing, it is that the rebels in these countries are far more in tune with Mr. Trump’s anti-immigrant and anti-free trade instincts than their current leaders. is. And Trump may want to promote political interlocutors who are more sympathetic to him.
For example, in France, Marine Le Pen’s far-right party National Rally (formerly the Front National) has its best chance of winning in 2027 under the two-round presidential election system that has always prevented it from taking power. are. Although the AfD is unlikely to form a government in Germany’s coalition-driven system, its influence could increase after February’s federal elections.
And Trump has already appeared in front of European far-right leaders, including Hungarian strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Italy’s right-wing populist Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who could become the European Union’s most powerful national leader. – Rolling out the red carpet at A Lago. Right now.
The nationalist DNA in Trump’s foreign policy is often a reaction to the policies and attitudes of center-left leaders in the West.
This may help explain the president-elect’s torment for Trudeau, a self-proclaimed feminist who warmly welcomed immigrants. Mr. Trudeau is the antithesis of MAGA. Although Trudeau is likely to be replaced by a Liberal prime minister in the short term, the most likely outcome of the general election, which is supposed to be held this year, is a new government led by Conservative leader Pierre Poièvre. It is the establishment of The Alberta native shares some of President Trump’s populist tendencies, including his immigration issues and his penchant for giving derisive nicknames to his opponents. But he also criticized Trump for calling Canada his 51st province, making him a more formidable negotiator on trade issues than the significantly weakened Trudeau once he takes control of a majority government. Maybe.
Similarly, if Mr. Musk is trying to destabilize Mr. Starmer, his actions stem from a misunderstanding of British political dynamics. The Labor leader just won a landslide victory and won’t have to face voters again for nearly five years. And Musk came after even Nigel Farage, leader of the far-right Reform Party, the father of Brexit and a friend of Trump, said he disagreed with X owners’ support for jailed anti-Muslims. , Musk now deems it not radical enough. – Right-wing activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Starmer felt compelled to speak out after Mr Musk was used to accuse him of being complicit in gang grooming in a landmark child abuse scandal he handled when he was director of public prosecutors. Ta. In other distortions of truth, Mr. Musk also claimed that Government Protection Minister Jess Phillips is “pure evil” and an “evil creature.”
Mr Starmer warned: “Those who spread lies and misinformation as far and wide as possible are not interested in their victims, they are interested in themselves.” He added: “When far-right venom leads to serious threats against the likes of Jess Phillips, a red line is crossed in my book.”
Despite Starmer’s harsh tone, the showdown with Musk, like other world leaders, will help build a relationship with Trump and protect the nation from the worst consequences of new US foreign policy. It is an unwelcome turmoil for the prime minister who is trying to save the country. Imposing American power on friends and foes alike.
But the transatlantic outrage may soon become a problem for President Trump as well.
Despite his deal-making instincts and desire to intimidate other leaders, Trump may someday need the help of U.S. allies, and Musk’s antics have already made him deeply unpopular in many countries. It has become much more difficult to adjust to the next US president.
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, who has the third-largest membership in Britain’s House of Commons, echoed that antipathy toward Mr. Trump on Monday. “People are tired of Elon Musk interfering with our democracy when he clearly knows nothing about Britain,” Davey quipped on X. “It’s time to call the US ambassador and ask him why the next US official is suggesting this to the British government.” It should be overthrown. ”
Mr Musk’s jab could also cause problems in the US. It’s already a headache for traditional U.S. foreign policy officials, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom President Trump nominated for secretary of state, and Florida Congressman Michael Walz, whom President Trump nominated for national security adviser. It has become a seed.
“I think it’s going to get very confusing very quickly. I don’t envy the career diplomats at the State Department, they’re certainly going to have their hands full trying to figure out whose agenda they’re pursuing.” said Gorman.
The apparent contradiction between U.S. policy and Mr. Musk’s business interests creates further complications. He has already sat in on Trump’s calls with world leaders such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Zelenskiy’s forces are using Musk’s Starlink internet system to support the war against Russia. is used.
Mr. Musk’s extensive commercial exposure in China could also weigh on Mr. Trump’s approach, along with the hawkish instincts of Mr. Walz and Mr. Rubio, who will be part of the most anti-China cabinet in modern U.S. history. There is a possibility of collision.
During President Trump’s first term, when he determined foreign policy through tweets, America became a disruptive force in the world. Musk’s prominent role in the second administration may make the past four years seem stable by comparison.
