Musk’s “co-president” – Elon Musk’s stretch as an unofficial “co-president” last year left officials in the Trump administration living with uncertainty, two journalists say—after a “climate of fear,” sharp internal confusion, and even a Mar-a-Lago moment Musk reportedly called “firs
On Friday morning, “Morning Joe” hosts pushed back on a single idea as it kept resurfacing from the new book “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump”: that Elon Musk’s stint as “co-president” last year never really let the Trump administration settle.
Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. speaking in a guest appearance on “MS NOW. ” said Musk’s unusual role contributed to a level of destabilization that the administration has not recovered from. Their point landed alongside the broader discussion around what they describe as a “climate of fear” developing under President Trump.
Haberman said part of the problem was how information moved—and who even had the ability to move it. “The press office will not get ahead of him on anything,” she said. She then pointed to an episode described in the book tied to “the 12-day war in Iran. ” when Trump reacted intensely after the Pentagon modified one of his Truth Social posts about controlling airspace over Iran.
Haberman said that furious response marked “the last time that you saw any kind of contradiction of what he was saying.” In her telling, the episode wasn’t just about what was said—it was about what happens after it’s said, and how quickly the rest of the operation has to scramble to keep up.
“So if you are a reporter who needs an answer fast, I understand why people are inclined to then just call him,” Haberman explained. “But if you’re a staffer, it creates this climate of fear.”
Swan and Haberman linked that fear and confusion to the way Musk operated inside the administration. Haberman said Musk’s position as an official DOGE advisor to Trump and the White House made matters worse, describing it as more than normal influence.
“You had Elon Musk — and we get into this in great detail — essentially serving not as a co-president but as a co-president for parts of the first four months or so [of this term]. ” she said. Haberman’s conclusion was blunt: “That created so much destabilization of this government that I think they also never quite recovered.”.
When Swan was asked about Silicon Valley’s “strategy” for working with and appeasing Trump. he pointed to a specific alleged moment at Mar-a-Lago around Christmas in 2024. He described Trump at his golf club at Doral. showing off text messages he had received from Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. “basically gloating about how much they’re ‘kissing my ass.’”.
Swan said Trump then showed those texts to Musk at Mar-a-Lago. In Swan’s account of the exchange, Musk responded with the phrase “first-class groveling,” and enjoyed what Swan characterized as watching his rivals try to win favor with Trump.
Placed together. the picture Haberman and Swan drew is one of a White House where timing and message control can fracture—first through the way contradictions get handled. then through the role Musk reportedly played inside the orbit of power. The destabilization they describe isn’t just a political inconvenience; it’s a working reality that. in their view. shaped how people inside the administration—and journalists outside it—had to react from day to day.
Elon Musk co-president Donald Trump Morning Joe MS NOW Maggie Haberman Jonathan Swan Regime Change Truth Social Iran war DOGE advisor Mar-a-Lago Jeff Bezos Mark Zuckerberg climate of fear