Elon vs. Trump: Is This the End of the New Right?

In this episode, we delve into the escalating feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Our discussion touches on the origins of their disagreement, including the implications of Elon's resignation from Doge, differing political ideologies, and the tensions surrounding a significant budget reconciliation bill. We also examine the broader impact on the tech right and the Trump administration, the role of JD Vance, and the potential future of the right-wing movement. Additionally, there are reflections on political loyalty, the sustainability of government spending, and humorous tangents on unrelated personal anecdotes. Tune in to get the full breakdown of this high-stakes political drama.

Malcolm Collins: Hello Simone. I am actually not so excited to be here with you today. I do not like what's going on right now. Between Elon and Trump, there has been a big falling out, a big fight that's been happening online. I mean, like it has gone. Nuclear on both sides. and, and people may ask, oh, is this the end of the tech?

Right? No, it's not like this is, this is a fight that while I am disappointed in the people involved in it I. I did not expect more for them. If anything, I'm kind of amazed they kept things going for as long as they did. Mm-hmm. And they didn't fall to the progressive nonsense. If anything, it almost feel like this fight happened as soon as the progressive stopped trying to drive them apart because now they could have a falling out without it looking like they were tricked into it by progressives.

That's a fun theory. I, I think that ironically the months and months of progressives trying to do stories like, oh, president Elon and stuff like this ended up with Trump and Elon feeling like they can't break up without making it look like Progressives won. And then Elon leaves his job with the administration, and I'll note here.

He left his job with the administration. Like Doge is still operational. Like my brother, little brother works for Doge. Everything he set up was already on sort of auto when he left. Right. And I'll also note here that just because Elon has decided to who create a, a beef with Trump that does not mean that the tech right has a beef with Trump.

Mm-hmm. This is a personal issue. This is not an issue really. Of of politics. There was a political angle to it that started a lot of it. But this is not something that changes the tech rights opinion. And I'll note when people hear the tech right, they think tech workers, when really, I think a better way to think of the tech in that is the right, that is downstream of the online communities like four Chan and Gamergate and all of that.

That's right. Like yeah. Asma Gold I would see as a more central figure in the tech right than Elon in terms of sort of culture setting and idea generation. Mm-hmm. Like if, if, if somebody like Asma goal or like Nino or us came out and are like, we are anti-Trump now or we are anti MAGA now, like I would be like the tech right has a major issue like correct.

That two really big. Egos who you know, had, had worked together for as long as they did actually. Like, I kind of respect them both more just as they kept it going for as long as they did, because I did not expect it is

Simone Collins: really, they're such strong personalities that kind of I see as only being able to, they can only be one in the room.

And yet there were so many instances of both in the same room, both working together, both sharing the headlines. Yeah, it felt so crazy. And I mean, nothing that has happened recently undoes what Elon Musk did, which was play a pivotal role in getting President Trump elected. And role, I mean, Trump

Malcolm Collins: denies that.

Let, let's, let's put it, what I would say is I don't, I I'm, I, I wouldn't say that Trump would definitely have been elected without Elon's help. I'm saying he might have been, Elon helped solidify the tech right partnership. But the, the truth is, is that Elon, if, if you're talking about like who's the political king of the tech, right?

Like who's actually the tech, right. King, it's JD Vance. It's not you, obviously

Simone Collins: it's the vice president. Yeah. Next in line to the throne. Hello.

Malcolm Collins: Yeah. Put in place by like Peter Thiel, like he couldn't be more, he's a former vc, former atheist, now Christian like us, former vc, former atheist, now Christian.

You know, and, and

Simone Collins: JD Vance, by the way, is a very active vice president. I think for those who are outside the United States or even in it in the United States in general, a vice president is fairly feckless, not involved. Kind of like, I mean, there was even one, one vice president in American history who basically spent his entire term.

Totally blitzed in New York, not even in dc. You know, typically they have pretty distant offices and they, they play a very symbolic role. But JD Vance's office is in the west wing of the White House. It is, it is down the hall from President Trump. He is actively involved. So this is, he is in history, one of the most active vice presidents.

So not only was he selected and is that a major tone being sent by a now two term president about what the future of the party is going to look at. But he also, in his, from everything from the logistical position of his office to the active role he's playing in the Trump administration, JD Vance absolutely is the, the figurehead of the new right.

And the functional head of the new. Right.

Malcolm Collins: And, and I really appreciate that. Like, I, I'd like to say like. Everything that Elon has done for society and the world and, and you know, in terms of the things he's felt because he is done a lot in terms of the, the spaceship work in terms of his work in, you know, this culture formation.

He isn't, I, I think like if you're even like, come on, most tech white people don't see him as the guy who's like actually leading things. And no, I mean, it, it was never not understood that Elon is a mercurial guy. He, he's not somebody who you want to, he's somebody you want to get stuff done. Not to be the ideological figurehead of a movement in the way that JD Vance is.

JD Vance is almost sort of the opposite here, where he is. If you watch any of his speeches or anything like that, he's incredibly thoughtful. Cunning in terms of how he sort of stacks the deck. And that's something that I really appreciate. And for me, a big part of all of this is it from everybody involved is loyalty is, is a big value of mine.

And so even when because there's been multiple instances in which I feel like the administration has done things that the tech rate would disagree with but like I have been very easy being like, well, the alliance matters more than the individual policy things. Because we, we only together can we fight the urban monoculture.

And, and if we fall apart, America falls apart. Like there the other side is. Demonic in every way a thing can be demonic. You know, they, they sort humans by their ethnic group. They sort humans by their sexuality, they strip humans of their identity and, you know, national pride and ethnic pride and any, any, the pride in their ancestors and what they built their, it's, it's horrifying Right.

To, to see what they've done. And we can all work together and agree that like, we, we can fight for each of us to raise kids our own way. Yeah. But let's go into the details of what happened exactly here.

Simone Collins: Yeah. As you pointed out, first Elon Musk left Doge, IW we would say, well, before this particular TAs, AMIC started amicably

Malcolm Collins: and then unfortunately the news stopped.

Huge. Stopp