Elon Musk's Polarizing Reputation Inside the White House
Not everyone hates him, not everyone loves him and not many are in the middle in how they perceive and judge the government 'Chainsaw Al'
Uh oh. The tolerance for Elon Musk inside of the White House is wearing thin…,” reported Tara Palmeri, an investigative journalist, podcaster, content creator and author of "The Red Letter” on Substack.
In a very bold, interesting piece, Palmeri pulls the curtain back to detail the growing resentment that is being communicated about Musk’s presence, arrogance and seemingly reckless cost cutting.
Let’s take a look at select points from that piece and analyze it from trust, relationship, conflict, risk and reputation perspectives because there are lessons here, not only for Musk and the White House, but leaders and professionals throughout the country.
“… the public polling shows that the numbers for Musk — what some would call (President) Trump’s heat shield — have been in free fall since Trump took office, with more than 53 percent of people having an unfavorable opinion of Musk, according to a new CNN poll. But surely Trump’s political operation, which to be fair is an impressive one, would want to know if Musk was starting to become a liability,” Palmeri wrote.
Interesting, Important Points above: It’s attention getting that it’s been noticed or more, determined, that Trump may be using Musk as a heat shield for criticism or that Musk has volunteered himself to be one for the president. Is that accurate?
It’s a reasonable conversation point and debate. Who is taking more anger now? It would seem that it may be Musk, rendering Palmeri’s point accurate.
Is Musk a liability? Trump doesn’t think so, at least that’s what he’s communicated. He praises Musk for being willing to do the dirty work that the president feels is not only necessary but will benefit the country, now and long term.
Critics, both honestly and disingenuously, that Musk is a liability. Politicians, media and public are divided on this argument, meaning that Musk as a liability depends on whom you talk to and believe.
His behavior on social media has long been low on “I don’t give a damn how wild I communicate” and that behavior pattern has been equally rough and over the top inside the White House, per reports.
“He’s demonstrably dismissive of people who have incredibly important jobs because he doesn’t understand the government,” Palmeri wrote that a source with knowledge of the matter stated.
“I’ve been reporting for months that Musk has been disrespectful to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles,” she wrote. “He treats (her) like a secretary in front of people,” the source with knowledge of the matter told Palmeri.
Interesting, Important Points above: Musk might feel like a Washington insider yet within the White House and government he is, objectively stated, the new guy, the unwanted guy and judged as an outsider, a rogue one. People are territorial by nature, especially in a power environment.
He is doing what Trump has advised him to to do and allows him to do. Musk has been granted carte blanche. Whether what Musk and his people are doing is helpful or destructive or both, what’s happening is not being well received by the old guard.
That he’s judged as being disrespectful and running roughshod over a high-ranking authority picked by Trump is alarming, beyond how he should be conducting himself and surely a powder keg due to eventually explode.
You can’t steamroll people and leave them feeling that they aren’t able to do their jobs well and thus, disrespected or fearful.
If they additionally see you as incompetent, that’s a significant problem.
“Administration officials have a myriad of feelings toward Musk: they hate him, they’re afraid of him and they think he’s creepy for doing things like sleeping on a cot in his office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where five guards stand outside of his door,” Palmeri wrote.
“The (staff) hates him,” said the source with knowledge of the matter. “Part of it is policy and part is that he’s not human. He treats Susie like a fucking secretary. But they’re petrified of him.”
Interesting, Important Points above: Being hated is not entirely no problem for the Trump administration and what Musk may need to do that could require other people’s assistance.
Yes, the majority of Trump voters are satisfied or extremely happy with the job that Musk is doing yet the federal government and United States is more than one team. To be fair, not all the criticism is valid, of course, yet not all of it is lacking credibility.
How bad are things? Musk has said, with hesitation and concern in his voice, that he fears assassination. That should not be happening. It’s outrageous. It’s also real.
Musk is strong enough to mostly not care about how he is fully being perceived, realizing that not every perception is accurate, important or worth addressing.
Being considered lacking being human though may not now he wants to come off.
“They’re like ‘Fuck this guy, he’s not communicating what he’s going to cut, he’s just cutting,’” Palmeri reported a well-placed source as saying. “Whenever they get a call, everything goes to shit. They’re trying to run their agencies, and then they have this guy who thinks he’s trimming the fat, but it isn’t fat.”
“He treats cabinet secretaries like they’re messenger boys,” the source with knowledge of the matter said.
Interesting, Important Points above: Musk clearly has an image problem, partly due to his belief system and partly due to his weakness of understanding of psychology in decision making. The lack of sensitive, effective, proactive and responsive communication is a shortcoming.
A Rebuttal
“The last time I spoke to (Trump spokesperson Steven) Cheung about how Musk treats Wiles, someone who commands fierce loyalty among the ranks, he was very explicit. “These sources are full of shit and have no idea what they are talking about,” he told Palmeri. “Instead of making up out-right lies, they should focus their time on self-reflection to better understand what happened in their lives that led them down this dark path.”
Interesting, Important Points above: An alternative viewpoint is allowed. This isn’t Musk saying it, it’s Cheung. It usually isn’t beneficial to hold this type of belief and disregard people’s feelings, even if you have decided that what you are doing is something that has to be done.
Musk and the Trump administration have vociferous critics and happy supporters. It’s politics, that’s how it goes. They have committed to doing what they feel is right for the collective, long term and are willing to endure the arrows — flaming ones — being shot at them daily by the media, congress and the general public.
When working with other people however, making enemies is choosing to travel through extremely dangerous territory. You’re going to get “shot at” with insults and criticism (false and factual), people are going to try to undermine you and worse, work long and hard to take you down. Expect tribal warfare and triangulation.
Do as you want yet gain a full understanding of the landscape and very real risks and know what you are willing to open yourself up to before and while moving forward.
This newsletter — Reputation Intelligence — is written by Michael Toebe, and is a product of Reputation Intelligence - Reputation Quality, a firm which helps individuals and organizations assure a greater peace of mind, provide stress relief through reliable decision analysis, consulting, advisory and communications.
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