‘Politically Toxic’: Politico Dives Into Why ‘Deeply Unpopular’ Elon Musk Has Disappeared From DC
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Elon Musk was, just months ago, a fixture in Trumpworld: posing beside the president on the White House lawn, riding Air Force One, attending Cabinet meetings, and even featuring prominently in Trump campaign emails. But he’s now vanishing from the political foreground.
In a sprawling deep dive published Monday, Politico journalists Jessica Piper and Holly Otterbein charted the tech mogul’s rapid fall from Republican grace, pointing to a coordinated, if quiet, retreat by GOP operatives now wary of Musk’s tanking popularity.
Once omnipresent in Washington and virtually inseparable from Trump, Politico reported, the name “Elon Musk” is now barely uttered in MAGA circles. Not by Trump. Not by his team. Not even by lawmakers.
According to the outlet, the silence is strategic. Musk has become “deeply unpopular” with voters across the spectrum.
The outlet notes that while Trump used to post about Musk — who donated $290 million into the 2024 Republican campaign — about four times a week, he has not mentioned the businessman in online posts for over a month. Some Republicans described Musk as “politically toxic.”
“He’s finished, done, gone,” one anonymous GOP operative told the publication. “He polls terrible. People hate him.” And for Republicans heading into a high-stakes midterm cycle, embracing a political liability is no longer a viable option.
Even Trump’s fundraising machine, once quick to pair Musk’s name with donation appeals, has backed off. In February, mentions of Musk were routine in campaign emails. By May, they’d all but vanished, Politico reported after analysis.
Musk’s government role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was headline fodder in Trump’s early days, but as tariffs and immigration now dominate the agenda, even his controversial cost-cutting efforts have lost their edge.
Still, as Politico noted, Musk remains a spectre for Democrats who are in no rush to drop him as a campaign foil. He still shows up in ads, especially in swing districts, often paired with Trump – a shorthand for the perceived extremism of the MAGA-led GOP.
Justifying Democrats’ continued fixation with Musk despite his retreat form the headlines, party strategist Jesse Ferguson told the outlet: “Ultimately, the issue here was never about Elon Musk, it was about Elon Musk-ism.”
