After Democrats spent months branding him as a fascist, some members of the party are hoping to court Elon Musk back to their side of the aisle as his relationship with President Donald Trump deteriorates, Politico reported.
The feud between Musk and the president came to a head on Thursday afternoon, when Musk called for Trump’s impeachment and claimed the president is mentioned in the Epstein Files, while Trump said Musk “went crazy” and threatened to cut his government contracts. Now, some Democrats want to capitalize on the situation by bringing Musk back into the party fold, according to Politico.
Tensions between the two had been building for days after Musk criticized Trump’s “one big, beautiful” bill to advance his legislative priorities, calling it a “disgusting abomination.” A White House insider told the Daily Caller that Musk had been overreaching and acting like a second president, growing increasingly frustrated as he was told “no” again and again.
Musk, who was once a Democrat, endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential election and contributed nearly $300 million to his campaign. He took a significant role in the administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), drawing the ire of Democrats as he sought to rein in the federal bureaucracy.
Since announcing his support for Trump and joining the administration, Musk has been suggested to be a fascist or a Nazi by many on the left, including prominent Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Democrat lawmakers have threatened investigations into Musk’s supposed corruption, and 14 Democrat-led states have sued him over his role at DOGE.
Meanwhile, Tesla sales have declined, and incidents of vandalism against the vehicles surged as left-wing protesters lashed out against Musk’s efforts to dramatically shrink the size of government.
Still, some Democrats, like Rep. Ro Khanna of California, have suggested that the party should “be in a dialogue” with Musk following his falling-out with Trump, Politico reported.
“We should ultimately be trying to convince him that the Democratic Party has more of the values that he agrees with,” said Khanna, whose district includes much of the Silicon Valley area, according to Politico. “A commitment to science funding, a commitment to clean technology, a commitment to seeing international students like him.”
“If Biden had a big supporter criticize him, Trump would have hugged him the next day. When we refused to meet with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump embraced him & won. We can be the party of sanctimonious lectures, or the party of FDR that knows how to win & build a progressive majority,” Khanna later posted on X.
Khanna’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Liam Kerr, co-founder of the centrist Democrats’ WelcomeFest convention this week in Washington, also told Politico that “of course” Democrats should welcome Musk back if he wishes to rejoin the party.
“You don’t want anyone wildly distorting your politics, which he has a unique capability to do. But it’s a zero-sum game,” Kerr told the outlet. “Anything that he does that moves more toward Democrats hurts Republicans.”
However, not all Democrats are convinced the party should try to win Musk back.
“Why do we want him?” said Democratic strategist James Carville in May. “I mean, what does he bring? … Look at the damage he’s done to the federal government.”
Likewise, Democrat Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania criticized members of his party for changing their tune on the tech billionaire.
“The Dems, we’ve been dumping all over Musk and vandalizing Teslas or whatever, and now, suddenly, we might be more back into him,” Fetterman told reporters Thursday.
GOP polling analyst Jon McHenry also cautioned Democrats against looking to embrace Musk again.
“Using Elon Musk for your own purposes is like using a wild tiger for transportation: you might get a ride out of it, but the experience ends with you getting mauled,” McHenry told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
During his marathon of posts on X on Thursday, Musk suggested creating a new political party that “actually represents the 80% in the middle, as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic Parties.”
It remains to be seen whether Trump and Musk will reconcile. “I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem, the poor guy’s got a problem,” the president told CNN Friday morning.
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