Haberman suggests Trump-Musk partnership 'could last' despite criticisms
National political correspondent Maggie Haberman weighed into the relationship between President-elect Trump and billionaire Elon Musk Wednesday, indicating that because of its uniqueness, the partnership could "last for quite some time."
Asked by CNN's John Berman where she sees the relationship going, Haberman suggested that despite criticism, the two seem to still be hitting it off.
"Look it's stand ... it's in good standing now. There has certainly been a lot of complaints from people around Trump, beginning soon after Election Day, that Elon Musk was there too much. He was sitting in transition meetings that some people didn't care for him to be present for," Haberman said Wednesday evening on "AC360."
"But if Trump is getting tired of him, Trump is not making that, especially public," she added.
Her comments come as the president-elect and SpaceX owner have become close since Musk endorsed Trump for the White House, following the first assassination attempt on his life during a campaign rally earlier this year. He also stumped for Trump while on the campaign trail, drawing scrutiny over a $1 million giveaway he promised to Pennsylvania voters who signed his pro-Trump PAC's petition to support free speech and the right to bear arms.
Earlier this month, Trump tapped Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to serve in his administration as the heads of a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” (DOGE) which aims to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures” and restructure federal agencies.
DOGE would “provide advice and guidance from outside of government” and work alongside the White House Office of Management and Budget, the president-elect said.
“It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” Trump wrote in his announcement. “Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of ‘DOGE’ for a very long time.”
In the Wednesday interview, Haberman acknowledged that the president-elect and Musk have one thing in common: Wealth.
“You know, where I could see … Trump chafing here and there, because Trump never likes anybody around for too long,” Haberman, a senior reporter at The New York Times, told Berman. “And one of the things that people around him have come to realize over time is that scarcity is a commodity for them, if they wanna have longevity with him.”
“Musk is also, and depends on the day, the richest or one of the richest men in the world, and Trump has a huge fascination with wealth,” she continued. “As you noted, Trump equates wealth with intelligence, and so I actually think this relationship could last for quite some time.”
The relationship has also caused some Republicans to raise their eyebrows, especially after Musk joined the Trump family for photos following his Election Day win. Some have even questioned how long the two can co-exist, particularly given the former president's past frustration with those who take up too much of the spotlight.
“Trump is not going to have another alpha. I think Trump is going to tire of him,” one source close to the transition told The Hill earlier this month.
A GOP lobbyist with ties to the president-elect also said there are some in Trump's orbit who think Musk, the owner of social platform X, is “a little big for his britches.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.