Amanda Marcotte, “I am the alpha in this relationship”: What Musk’s romantic history reveals about his hold on Trump, Salon, March 12, 2025.
It’s important to note briefly that it is not a crime to refuse to buy a Tesla, throw the bird at people who drive Teslas, make fun of Tesla drivers online, or hurriedly sell off your Tesla at half its previous market value after being called a “Nazi” in a parking lot. Musk’s crashing brand reputation is just the free market in action, something Republicans used to claim they supported. But what’s striking about Trump’s post is not his baseless threats, which constitute much of his communication on any given day, it’s his tone. The president talks about Musk not like a valued colleague or even a friend. No, Trump’s plea resembels that of a lovesick woman angrily defending her worthless boyfriend to skeptical friends.
Trump and Musk are consenting adults, of course, but unfortunately, their team-up is ruining lives and threatens to destroy the American economy, so they’ve made their relationship the public’s business. For months now, it’s been baffling how Trump, whose narcissism is boundless, has allowed himself to become a supplicant to Musk [...] Musk lacks charisma as a public speaker, but his long line of failed and frankly strange relationships with women[...] suggests the tech executive is well-versed in the art of interpersonal manipulation. Musk got a lot of practice on the women in his life, and now appears to be using similar strategies on Trump.
Thus:
Entertainment journalist Kat Tenbarge told podcast host Matt Bernstein that this form of “love-bombing” is what many of Musk’s former partners describe experiencing. “At the beginning of the relationship, he is really doting. Presents himself as like, ‘I’m going to save you.’” On Bluesky, she added that Musk has “a well-established pattern of pursuing younger women” only “to humiliate them later.” For instance, he famously had a years-long relationship with the musician Grimes, having 3 children with her — while having children with other women, seemingly behind her back. At one point, his biographer recalls, Musk showed up at a studio while she was recording with a gun and demanded to be included.
And now (the) Donald:
While it’s not romantic, Musk appears to be engaging the same dynamic with Trump. He lavished Trump with cash, spending at least a quarter-billion on the campaign, and he’s now reportedly promising to pour another $100 million into Trump’s political outfit. He’s using the “won’t take no for an answer” technique of never leaving Trump’s side, even moving into Mar-a-Lago so that he could keep a close eye on his new “buddy.” The love-bombing is over-the-top and incredibly public.
There's more at the link.
Mentally ill.
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