Donald Trump's former lawyer argued that Elon Musk would be a major liability for his agenda moving forward.
The tech billionaire bought himself a prominent perch in the president's second administration by contributing more than $277 million to his 2024 re-election campaign, but former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen wrote on his Substack page that Musk would present a major political problem for Republicans.
"It takes a special kind of arrogance, bordering on megalomania, to look at a former astronaut, Navy captain, and combat veteran who nearly lost his wife to an assassination attempt and call him a traitor," Cohen wrote. "But that’s exactly what Elon Musk did to Senator Mark Kelly after the Arizona Democrat voiced his unwavering support for Ukraine. And in doing so, Musk just handed Donald Trump and the GOP another ticking time bomb set to detonate right in their laps."
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The South Africa-born Musk fancies himself a kingmaker in the Republican Party, Cohen wrote, but he has torched his credibility with veterans by cutting more than 80,000 jobs at the Veterans Administration and alienated others by attacking Kelly, who flew combat missions in Operation Desert Storm and served as a NASA astronaut.
"By attacking a decorated veteran, he’s driving even more of them away from the GOP; a party that still desperately needs their votes," Cohen wrote. "For Trump, this is disastrous. Veterans are still pissed with him, thanks to his documented history of calling them 'suckers' and 'losers,' disrespecting Senator John McCain by refusing to acknowledge him as a war hero, and botching policies meant to support them. Musk’s latest meltdown isn’t going to help. Veterans aren’t going to look at Musk’s unhinged ranting against Mark Kelly and think, 'Yeah, this guy speaks for me.' They’re going to see yet another wealthy, out-of-touch billionaire attacking one of their own; and by extension, themselves."
Cohen wrote that Republicans faced a long-term electoral crisis in the making as independents shift left and suburban voters turn against MAGA policies, and he said Musk's attacks on veterans presented another obstacle to retaining their congressional majorities in next year's midterms.
"The GOP’s continued obsession with Musk isn’t just bad politics; it’s electoral suicide," Cohen wrote. "They have hitched their wagon to a man who not only has no loyalty to their party but also thrives on controversy, chaos, and alienating crucial voting blocs. It’s a disaster in the making, and the worst part? They know it. They just don’t have the spine to do anything about it."
"Elon Musk may think he’s the future of American politics," Cohen added Wednesday. "But if he keeps this up, he’s going to make sure the GOP doesn’t have one."