By Philip Yeung
The romance is dead. Now comes the ugly divorce.
Trump's quickie romance
Nothing lasts long with Trump. Nothing ends well with him either. Those who work for him either get fired, jailed, or blacklisted. Shockingly, Trump himself has given his relationship woes a new name: "The Trump Derangement Syndrome". Yes, but for everyone in his charmed circle, it can be highly contagious.
No one is surprised that the Trump-Musk bromance lasted just six months. As the biggest wrecking ball, Trump's only use to society is to knock things down—at whatever level: the personal, national or international. First, he dismantles the global trading system via a vicious volley of tariffs. Then he wiped USAID off the map, leaving the vulnerable around the world to fend for themselves. Before he can sort out the mess, he starts a deadly personal feud with his biggest backer, Elon Musk.
It is written that the honeymoon would be short-lived, but the velocity and viciousness of the breakup are still jaw-dropping, ending much quicker than Trump's failed marriages. This romance between the world's richest man and the most powerful politician appeared to have God as the matchmaker. But before you can say halleluiah, this "big and beautiful" relationship, like so many others, bites the dust.
Will Trump be trumped by Musk?
Trump loves an asymmetrical fight, with him holding all the cards. But two can play the game. Just last month, he was embarrassingly outplayed by a cool and unflappable China.
Now, he discovers that the man with the deepest pocket is also no pushover, armed with poisoned arrows up his sleeve: For the first time, he has given us a peek into Trump's entanglement in the sordid Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal, thanks to Musk's private collection of incriminating videos. Don't tell me that Trump, the sex predator, was there to take selfies with underage girls or innocently shake their hands. He must be quite worried what else Musk has under lock and key.
Next, Elon threatens that his SpaceX will decommission the Dragon spacecraft, the only vehicle that can rescue US astronauts stranded in space. Musk then doubled down and called for the ultimate humiliation: Trump's third impeachment. Trump collects impeachments like he collects wives, mistresses, prostitutes and sex scandals. But will he always remain bulletproof?
A third impeachment?
This time, Trump seems to smell the danger. Musk has ample financial muscle to tip enough members of Congress into favoring impeachment. With 200 million followers on his tweets, he is a fearsome influencer. In political matches, he proves he can fight dirty. Musk has paid dearly for his dalliance with Trump, a reviled figure in Europe and across much of the world, with overseas buyers boycotting his Tesla. By disowning Trump, Musk is repairing his reputational damage. In this nuclear-nasty falling out, more people are taking his side.
Trump is calling for a truce, but Musk remains coy, not answering any calls from the White House. Regardless of a rapprochement, the damage is done.
The late-night talk show hosts and stand-up comedians can't have enough of Trump—his follies are an endless fodder to their merciless mockery.
A mad dog on the loose
This is America's predicament: an administration at war with trading partners and rivals, its civil service, ethnic minorities and immigrants, top-tier universities like Harvard, and infighting among its inner-circle players. A holy mess from an uncalled-for unholy row all over the map.
Trump is a demolition man. He just can't deliver. Pre-election, he boasted that he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours. If anything, the fighting has since escalated to near-Armageddon level. Talk is cheap. Bluster is his second nature.
How many more bombshells?
As an ADHD man-child, Trump drops bombshell after bombshell on allies and adversaries alike. His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stuns the world by slapping sanctions on three ICC judges for issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu on his horrendous war crimes. This is a shameful, cowardly attack on the sanctity of international law, and a god-awful signal to the genocidal Israeli military. America has lost its way, led astray by spineless, unprincipled politicians who feather their own nests.
The law-breaker as the overlord
Twelve months ago, pundits were betting whether Trump would end up in the jailhouse. Now he is dictating from the White House. A serial sex offender, tax cheater, unethical business operator, scam artist and brutal bully is behaving like a self-crowned king. A mad dog is on the loose. The law is no longer the leash. Sadly, upholding the law now carries the risk of sanctions. A ride with Trump is a roller-coaster ride through lawlessness. This president loves people kissing his ass. What we need is someone big enough to kick his ass. If deep-pocketed, rocket-powered Elon Musk can't do it, who else can?
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