Trump and Musk's talk of a cabinet position is all hot air, but we shouldn't ignore it | Brian Merchant

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

73% : "He's a very smart guy," Trump responded.
63% : Trump made his long awaited return to the social network following Musk's endorsement.
63% : Trump and Musk's alliance is in its infancy.
54% : It's not the first time the idea has come up - Trump floated the possibility in May - but it is the first time that Musk has responded in the affirmative, winkingly or otherwise.
48% : The truth that undergirds Musk's deepening bond with Trump is that he doesn't have to go to Washington to wield influence over our institutions.
41% : By the time Trump survived an assassination attempt in July, Musk was well primed - he immediately endorsed the former president, and has been all-in ever since.
39% : A Reuters reporter recently asked Trump whether he'd consider appointing Musk to his cabinet.
38% : Not because it is at all likely to happen but because it's worth examining what the entreaty itself reveals about Trump and Musk's relationship and the relinquishing of a once pivotal platform - X, formerly Twitter - to forces preoccupied with conspiracy and propaganda at this precarious moment.
37% : Trump remains one of the world's most noxious content creators, notorious for egging on the January 6 riots in tweets.
33% : If the election takes a darker turn and Trump again refuses to recognize the election results, we can expect that Musk, a potential member of a Trump cabinet, will exacerbate any ensuing chaos.
27% : Musk hosted Trump on Spaces, a livestream feature of X, where, after a half an hour of technical difficulties, they set about rambling for two hours, talking past each other about immigration, Harris and nuclear bombings.

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