The richest man in the world is reportedly being "frozen out" of the West Wing, and onlookers had a range of responses.
The British newspaper the Sunday Times recently reported that President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, "has denied the billionaire touted as ‘the real vice-president’ a permanent office in the heart of the White House."
"The 'ice maiden' at the heart of the Trump administration has won her first big battle this week — denying Elon Musk a permanent base in the West Wing of the White House. Susie Wiles, a veteran Florida political fixer and the first female chief of staff, earned her nickname from President Trump for the calm professionalism she brought to his election campaign," the outlet reported Friday. "Observers call her job 'the toughest in America': she must bring order to Trump’s White House operation, control access to the president to keep him focused, manage senior staff and liaise with Congress to advance his legislative agenda."
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Some opponents of Musk spoke out on social media.
Marty Taylor, Executive Director of NewBlueUSA, said, "Trump KICKS Elon out of the WHITE HOUSE."
British columnist Dan Hodges simply said, "And so it begins..."
Artist Art Candee said, "Donald Trump's Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, has refused to give Elon Musk an office in the West Wing, sticking DOGE in the Eisenhower building, which is across the road from the White House."
"She's also making him report to her," the artist added.
Popular analyst Brian Allen said that Wiles "has reportedly put a leash on 'DOGE' and Elon Musk’s direct line to Trump."
"Instead of cozying up in the West Wing, DOGE is getting parked outside in the Eisenhower building—far from the action," he wrote. "And here’s the kicker: DOGE won’t be reporting to Trump directly anymore. It’s Wiles calling the shots now. Looks like the power games are in full swing, and Musk’s influence just got a reality check."
Shawn Pasternak, who previously worked at the Republican opposition research firm America Rising, said, "She's an icon, she's a legend, and she is the moment."
Broadcaster John Simpson said, "Trump’s tough chief of staff, Susie Wiles, has distanced Elon Musk from the president by making sure he doesn’t have a West Wing office."
"He’ll be across the road instead. ‘Anyone who cannot be counted on to be collaborative…isn't working in the West Wing,’ she said recently," Simpson added on Saturday.
Some observers also speculated that the order came from Trump, and that Wiles was a "fall guy."
