For eight years, Democrats saw Donald Trump as the most toxic brand in politics, a singular figure who unified their disparate factions and filled their political coffers with campaign contributions. The limits of that strategy became evident in November.
They are now turning their attention to a new supervillain: Elon Musk.
In the early weeks of the second Trump administration, Democrats are seeking to highlight the prominence of Musk, the polarizing technology mogul, in the new administration.
The strategy is the first sign of unified opposition for a rudderless and leaderless Democratic Party. As I recently reported with my colleague Reid Epstein, Democrats do not agree on a vision for the future, on what issues to prioritize or on how to confront a Trump administration that is carrying out its right-wing agenda with head-spinning speed.
So as their party struggles to settle on a message against Trump, Democrats have turned to Musk as an easier — and far more politically vulnerable — proxy.
Attacking a ‘puppet master’
Since Trump has returned to the White House, Musk has dispatched a fleet of young men from his companies to gain access to closely held financial and data systems, shutter specific programs and encourage federal employees to quit their jobs. He has used X — his own giant social media platform — to shame and attack those who have tried to block his efforts.
Liberal activists once waved signs depicting cartoonish mops of orange hair. Now, demonstrators outside government buildings carry hand-painted placards announcing that “nobody elected Elon.” On Tuesday, outside the Office of Personnel Management, protesters chanted: “Hey, hey, ho, ho! Elon Musk has got to go!”
