The Trump vs. Musk Brawl Is an Old-White-Guys Version of a ‘Real Housewives’ Catfight

The president and billionaire’s escalating social media insults have serious implications – but for now, it’s a pass-the-popcorn moment The post The Trump vs. Musk Brawl Is an Old-White-Guys Version of a ‘Real Housewives’ Catfight appeared first on TheWrap.

Jun 6, 2025 - 03:10

The Trump vs. Musk Brawl Is an Old-White-Guys Version of a ‘Real Housewives’ Catfight

Reality TV helped make Donald Trump president, after all, so it perhaps stands to reason that the former “The Apprentice” host and Elon Musk would treat the media to the old-white-dude version of a Bravo-style catfight, what CNN analyst Paul Begala gleefully described Thursday as “Real Househusbands of Mar-a-Lago.”

While many anticipated some version of a Trump-Musk breakup eventually, the actual event surely exceeded expectations in its early rounds. Then again, what would one expect from two wealthy eccentrics with hyperactive social media accounts, except a slap fight using tweets as ammunition?

“Buckle up, and pop some popcorn,” MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace said during her show, reflecting the unabashed giddiness that greeted the escalating exchanges of canceling government contracts (Trump), references to the Epstein files (Musk) and starting a new political party (Musk), which seemed to approximate in their fast-building fury that boulder that chased Indiana Jones.

The tsunami crashed Trump’s Truth social. Meanwhile, “Elon” was trending on his social platform, X, to the tune of 2 million posts.

Wallace got a bit more serious in discussing the implications of the feud, saying the Trump-Musk volleys offered a window into “the most corrupt and superficial alliance in American political history.” She might have characterized it best, though, during that opening comment, to the extent that we now process everything as entertainment, a dynamic Trump has successfully exploited dating back to his initial migration into politics.

Given that, the particulars of Trump and Musk’s war of typed-out words might have possessed less immediate significance than the overall nastiness of the tone. That happened to make it perfect fodder for X, the social media site that Musk owns, unleashing salvos of cleverness, jokes a n d memes that felt like a refreshing detour from its increasingly sludge-filled toxicity.

As for the principal combatants, spectators could choose their favorite lines of attack, from Musk invoking Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein to Trump’s implied threat that he would terminate Musk’s government contracts.

“You hate it when your friends are fighting,” CNN contributor and committed Trump defender Scott Jennings said during Jake Tapper’s show, which, from a media perspective, goes well beyond “lie” to “flat-out whopper.”

For his part, Tapper sought to put the matter in perspective by acknowledging the spectacle associated with the feud with bemused detachment, before naturally devoting extensive time to it.

Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) — Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office in May 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“Not one American is helped by this, except, potentially, people who traffic in fun tweets,” Tapper observed, ignoring the fact that he is among those Americans whose occupation is at least peripherally tethered to “fun tweets,” at least of this magnitude, along with (for the purposes of this column anyway) yours truly.

News divisions and anchors quickly sought to pivot from voyeurism to finding the meat of the story, examining what Musk’s break with Trump could mean for Republican legislators caught between them, as well as the passage of the pending tax bill, which Musk began criticizing almost as soon as he exited his position working for the government.

“This isn’t just tabloid fodder,” Tapper said, adding that the fracas “has policy ramifications.”

Much of that feels like cover, though, to wallow in the delicious absurdity of the President of the United States and the World’s Richest Man going to war with each other in such juvenile fashion.

In reality-TV terms, it was the equivalent of the tossed wine glass followed by the tipped-over table, before the physical altercation featured in the promo that winds up lasting all of three seconds with no actual punches thrown. Even Bravo’s Andy Cohen recognized the parallels to his franchise, volunteering to host the inevitable reunion special.