Tide Turns: Public Polling Craters for Oligarchs, Musk On Dangerous Ground

I don’t know how many times I have written this but to the extent it need be said again, President Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, Vice President JD Vance, and everyone else at the top of the MAGA kingdom – including one Elon Musk, best be a little bit more careful and circumspect because even though they’re coming off an election that looked for all the world like a rout (American elections are such that anything “clear” now looks like an overwhelming victory), things change, things change and they can change fast when one is talking about souring on someone, far faster than the time it takes to build trust and warm support. Yes, all things MAGA best be careful because none of them – or any of us – have seen the other side of the MAGA wave, the one in which a large segment of Trump supporters suddenly turn, which too many people, including likely Trump, believe to be impossible and yet history teaches us that it’s not only possible but probable if he stays in power long enough. He may consolidate power entirely with loyalists all through the federal government but that doesn’t completely ensure stability and power going forward… They better walk a bit more lightly. No one’s seen the other side of this phenomena.

We do see the numbers coming in and some of them indicate that changes are afoot. In many ways, this was all so predictable. The obviousness of it is near embarrassing for those of us who put forth widely read columns and have a duty to call people out. To be sure, I’ve noted for months that Trump’s support could vanish overnight if the economy gets bad, but I should have been clearer that the economy would slow as a matter of course amidst news of tariffs (Any significant change will cause people to keep money in their pockets while they ‘wait and see what happens… ” ), news of mass layoffs, slashed government aid, and gifts to the billionaire class – all a recipe to slow the economy way down. And if one looks at the inflation numbers, we see an economy that is teetering. Moreover, the first step in fighting inflation is to raise interest rates, something anathema to Trump and something he might try to stop, which would allow inflation to jump even more, which would scare consumers even more, scaring banks even more, sending interest rates up… It’s all a positive feedback loop, nothing happens in isolation.

And so now the tide is turning and no one is more associated with the roof caving than Elon Musk. Musk has gone from a modern hero figure, the guy wanting to go to Mars, the guy who has earned most of his fortune (In many eyes), now to the guy who is torching people’s jobs and pretending to know how to most benefit the country. Does he really think he’s fooling people? He may believe so. But most Americans know that a lot of this is to cull costs down for billionaire tax cuts, slash government personnel who may not be “loyal enough” to Donald Trump, and make it easier to control the government from this point forward – people get that, and they associate Musk with that movement. Hence his support is cratering as noted in a report from Mediaite:

Over half of U.S. adults reported that they have an unfavorable view of Musk, while 42% said they viewed him positively. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg’s unfavorable numbers were far higher at 67% — with only 25% expressing a positive view of the Meta founder.

Moreover, Pew Research found that Musk is a far more polarizing figure than Zuckerberg, as most Republicans view the Tesla CEO favorably, while Democrats have negative feelings toward him. On the other hand, Zuckerberg is viewed unfavorably by majorities in both parties.

Yes, Zuckerberg is included and it is a fact that people hate him but that’s hardly news, he’s been hated since he crawled out of Harvard. If being hated bothered Zuck he would probably only have a tiny $10 billion fortune, no news here and no real movement. But there is movement with respect to Musk and that movement will likely track support for Trump since the two of them go hand in hand, almost literally. Unsurprisingly, we see that Trump’s approval ratings have also shrunk.

I say “be careful” because even though we don’t know what the other side looks like history teaches us that it could get pretty ugly for both the nation and its leaders. It is far less fun – perhaps “satisfying” is a better word, being president when the country is rocked in turmoil and furious amidst a bad economy when things look and feel their worst. It is far less fun being the world’s richest man when one’s safety is compromised by a society that is desperate and spiteful, his freedom of movement is cut way back, secrecy becomes paramount, he has to spend a lot of time out of the country, needs a massive security footprint for every move… It all becomes less rewarding, less fun – one of the few things money cannot buy, security. It could even become dangerous, and though few of us have ever been oligarchs, it sure seems like the one fear that they can’t completely quell is the uprising, the one in which the poor simply won’t take it anymore… It would seem to be the one thing they simply cannot chase away, and so something they want to do all they can to keep away.

Yet Musk stands on top of the tallest mountain and on a daily basis invites anger and rage. He is taking people’s jobs, their dreams, and doing so as a filthy rich guy playing a game, with a weird smile on his face, and self-satisfaction that can be felt. Musk is in dangerous territory as it is for some sick mind to move. Perhaps an even bigger danger to Musk is that public support for his bigger programs, the Mars shot and Neuralink are two that come to mind, programs that need government contracts, and government contracts only go to companies that are either anonymous or wholly supported. Either way, Elon is playing a very dangerous game, upsetting people beyond words, threatening the economy, and acting as though he’s having the time of his life – because he is, that’s a dangerous mix.

No one has seen the other side of this, no one. But as a good rule of thumb, simply reverse the intensity of the emotions that went along with the “win” and turn it around, people feeling like they’re losing because of a false premise, one that is gone – the “good economy” has disappeared – and it becomes obvious that the other side is scary, dangerous, uncharted, and definitely unwanted, by anyone, including Democrats – who are also along for the ride and also experience the danger of a spiraling economy and civil unrest. And yet here they go, anything but careful, economies ebb and flow, they best start being more cautious, one hopes so.

God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter X at @JasonMiciak and please now follow me on Bluesky.

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