There were two big losers in this year’s US presidential election. One was Kamala Harris. The other was trust in polling companies.
Many polling companies called the US election result so badly wrong they were about as reliable as a stopped clock. And so, with some astonishment I read in a British tabloid newspaper that: “Elon Musk is now more popular with the British public than Keir [Starmer, the UK Prime Minister], a new poll has revealed.” Shock, horror … whatever next? But the poll comparing the “popularity” – whatever that is – of an American tech billionaire with a British politician is about as useful as comparing a Real Madrid footballer with Taylor Swift, or a kangaroo with a tuna. There is no correlation.
The pointless poll was conducted by JL Partners and their website says: “We formed JLP after three years running the research programme for 10 Downing Street, in the heart of politics.” In other words, a polling organisation run by people who worked for the former Conservative government finds that their opponent, the Labour leader, is not popular.
And this is news? Not really, I would suggest, except to note that trust in polling, politics and some supposed “news” sources in the US and UK right now is very low. But behind the silly stories, the big questions are obvious and very important.
What does Mr Musk want from Donald Trump? And what does Mr Trump want from Mr Musk? What we do know is that the US president-elect wants Mr Musk to job-share in the new Department of Government Efficiency – or simply “Doge” – with another top US entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Doge, a name familiar in the crypto world, could be a very exciting challenge, although having two leaders when one might be sufficient in a department promising “efficiency” sounds a bit odd. Nevertheless, Mr Ramaswamy is an estimable figure and a hugely successful entrepreneur. He ran for the Republican nomination for the US presidency, dropped out and then supported Mr Trump. But will he really work alongside Mr Musk?
A few years ago, I spent an hour for a TV news programme with Mr Musk when he launched Tesla in London. He is charismatic, impressive and followed the rules of salesmanship – you sell yourself first, the company second and the product third. He was very likeable. He talked about himself, explained the Tesla brand and then showed me the car, and in particular the battery.
He has clearly impressed Mr Trump, too. The rebranded Twitter (now X) is full of praise for the president-elect. But how much real trust will there be between the big beasts in this new Trump top team? After all, the original Trump appointments from his first term in 2017 rotated at bewildering speed.
There were so many press secretaries, communications directors and spokespeople that I think some of the names included Sean Spicer, Mike Dubke, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, Anthony Scaramucci (who lasted just 10 days), Hope Hicks (225 days) and Kayleigh McEnany. (Apologies if I’ve missed anyone.) As we know, many others from Mr Trump’s first-term team failed to endorse him in this year’s election. Mike Pence, the former vice president, was the most prominent of that number.
It’s hardly news that Mr Trump can be a difficult boss. Mr Musk may be equally demanding. He dismissed many of the Twitter staff when he took over. Mr Ramaswamy is charismatic and assertive. I have no crystal ball, but this political bromance may not last long nor end amicably. Will Mr Trump reprise his role in The Apprentice and say “you’re fired” to one of these big hitters? Will one of them walk out before they are pushed? From January, the world will watch a real-life drama that may rival the TV show The West Wing.
But for now – assuming Doge does begin operations – what may it achieve? Washington is a lovely capital, but up until the Second World War it remained a small city that then expanded greatly in size since the 1950s. A small-government Republican Congressman once said to me that Washington should be cut back to “defend our shores, deliver our mail and we’ll call you when we need you”.
The Trump-Musk-Ramaswamy “Doge” idea of shrinking the US federal government may be possible and even popular, leaving the 50 US states as the key providers of many of the services people need. But cutting bureaucracy in the name of efficiency is an easy slogan yet a difficult policy to implement. Republicans in Congress, cheered by the Trump win – and perhaps scared of the Trump temper – will have to get on board and adjust to the new-look White House.
Some predict that Trump Mark Two will be a maelstrom of bruised egos, as happened with Trump Mark One. Who knows? I suppose we could always ask one of the many polling companies that got the presidential election result so wrong to sample public opinion on the subject. Or maybe not bother and wait for some facts and real news.
