7 Ways Elon Musk Could Shatter Trump’s Power

Trump built the ride. Musk owns the tracks. Here’s how he could bring it all to a halt.

7 Ways Elon Musk Could Shatter Trump’s Power

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #406

How the World's Richest Wild Card Can Break the Game

There’s a funny thing about power…it’s not always about who has the most of it. It’s about who knows how to shift it…bend it…and break it when the time comes.

And right now, whether you love him or loathe him…Donald Trump has been the gravitational center of the American right for nearly a decade. People orbit him. Movements orbit him. Media orbits him.

But Elon Musk? He doesn’t orbit anyone. He’s one of the few players on the board who can genuinely knock Trump out of his seat.

The man controls platforms…pipelines, cultural trends…and most importantly…people’s attention. Trump’s greatest weapon is attention. Musk can manufacture it… steal it…or starve it.

So, let’s walk through seven real ways Elon Musk can shatter Trump’s power…piece by piece.

**Before we dive in, let me make this clear: I think Trump and Musk are both piles of shite. They’ve both given me every reason I need to think and feel that way. My guess is that you feel much the same.

I think those elected officials in the GOP (or any other high-level backer) who have enabled Trump, and that’s all of them…should live in shame for the rest of their lives; many of them should…in my opinion…be serving prison sentences right now.

Same thing for those who enabled Musk with his wrecking ball.

This issue of JHN is an analysis…not an endorsement of Elon Musk. He concerns me deeply.

Now listen, I’ll admit—there’s a certain grin that creeps across my face when I picture someone skillfully dismantling Trump’s machine. It’s a damn satisfying thought.

But don’t let that grin fool you. That little moment of joy doesn’t blind me to the reality that Elon Musk could bring his own set of dangers—some that might turn out just as bad… or maybe even worse. You’d be wise to keep that in mind as you read on.

If Musk were seriously planning to do the work to make healthcare better for all…to open less punishing paths to citizenship…and to fight for the things that matter to real people on both sides…I think we can all agree that would be fantastic. This country desperately needs those wins.

BUT…I don’t believe that’s Elon’s plan. You don’t either.

Let’s dive in…

1. Seizing the Right-Wing Megaphone by Controlling X

Trump’s rise to political dominance didn’t happen in a vacuum…it happened on Twitter. He weaponized it. He dominated the news cycle by bypassing traditional media gatekeepers. He understood that Twitter wasn’t just a platform…it was the megaphone.

Well, now the megaphone belongs to Elon Musk. And Elon can dial the volume up or down on anyone he chooses.

If Musk were to subtly tweak the algorithms to deprioritize Trump’s posts…or simply start amplifying other voices and movements that pull attention away…Trump’s firehose of daily influence will start to sputter.

Remember, Trump’s magic trick was his ability to be the unavoidable center of conversation. Take that away…and he’s a circus without an audience.

Elon doesn’t have to ban him. He just has to make him boring.

And don’t think Musk is above it. He’s already shown he’ll tweak…shadow-boost…or throttle content when it suits him.

He’s openly admitted it. And with the right precision…Musk could reshape the conversation around Trump without ever firing a public shot. It’s the quiet suffocation that does the job.

2. Launching a New Political Party to Fracture Trump’s Base

There’s no rule that says the two-party system is the only game in town. Musk has now stated that he will create a new political party…and it’s not a pipe dream.

Imagine a tech-driven, populist…pro-innovation party with a libertarian streak and a splash of cultural rebellion. You know who that would peel off?

The very people who powered Trump’s rise: young men…anti-institutional thinkers… disaffected independents…and the "own-the-libs" crowd that now feels like Trump might be their drunk uncle who’s overstayed his welcome.

A Musk-backed party won’t need to win the presidency. All it needs to do is bleed enough support away from Trump’s base to split the vote in key battlegrounds.

Remember, Trump didn’t win by massive margins. He won by razor-thin slivers in just a few places. If Musk were to pull just 3-5% of Trump’s loyalists…game over. The two-party system works until someone with the money and nerve kicks the table over. Musk has both.

3. Bankrolling a Serious Trump Rival

The kingmaker game is old as dirt.

And with Musk’s money…he could turn just about anyone into a viable threat. Right now…Trump’s challengers are either too timid…too underfunded…or too irrelevant to make a dent. Musk could change that overnight.

Imagine what would happen if Elon threw a billion dollars behind someone who’s a total wildcard, who’s got charisma but hasn’t yet been poisoned by the political establishment.

Musk’s influence wouldn’t just be money…it would be social media reach…meme amplification…podcast saturation…and a personal endorsement that carries massive cultural weight.

He could even recruit someone from the business or entertainment world…package them as a next-gen Trump alternative…and flood the zone with relentless content.

Trump would either have to attack Musk’s chosen rival…splitting his own base…or ignore them and watch them siphon his voters.

Either way, Musk gets to play chess while Trump is stuck playing checkers.

4. Weaponizing Memes and Culture Against Trump

Trump knows memes win elections. They did it for him in 2016, and they’ve kept him relevant ever since. But what happens when Musk’s meme factories start targeting him?

What happens when Elon’s massive network of meme accounts and cultural influencers start portraying Trump not as the bold…masculine hero…but as a whiny, out-of-touch relic?

That kind of cultural repositioning can be devastating.

When young men…the very engine of the meme economy…start seeing Trump as yesterday’s man…the damage is done.

Elon can orchestrate this quietly…encouraging the cultural drift without making it an overt campaign. Subtle ridicule. Boring grandpa jokes. Mocking his repetitive talking points.

Trump’s kryptonite isn’t policy criticism—it’s being laughed at by the cool kids.

Musk knows this. He’s built his entire brand on being untouchable in meme culture. He’ll that weapon…at least that’s my bet…and it will be the beginning of the end for Trump’s dominance over the online right.

5. Exposing Trump’s Hypocrisies From the Inside

One thing that’s always shocked me is how few people have weaponized Trump’s actual betrayals against him.

His base has been astonishingly loyal…even when he’s sold them out. But someone like Musk…who has both data access and media leverage…could surgically surface stories that hit Trump where it hurts.

Imagine Elon publicly highlighting how Trump’s tax policies disproportionately helped billionaires like himself…while doing nothing for the factory worker in Ohio.

Imagine exposing deals Trump made with Big Pharma that contradict his “drain the swamp” rhetoric.

Musk could even lean into the COVID vaccine narrative…one of the sore spots among Trump's hardcore base…and push the idea that Trump capitulated to the establishment when it mattered most.

These aren't distant, abstract attacks. These are the kinds of things that will create cognitive dissonance in the very people Trump depends on.

Elon has decided to fracture the foundation…and he doesn’t need to invent scandals…he just needs to put a spotlight on the ones Trump’s base hasn’t been forced to confront.

6. Disrupting Trump’s Media Ecosystem

Trump’s media oxygen comes from a predictable ecosystem:

Fox News, Newsmax, OANN…and a rotating cast of sycophants who amplify his every word. But Musk will almost certainly sidestep that entire infrastructure by boosting alternative right-wing outlets that don’t bow to Trump.

Elon could throw his weight behind a competitor to Fox…or start quietly elevating podcasters…influencers…and platforms that are more aligned with his vision of techno-libertarianism and less tied to Trump’s cult of personality.

He could literally reprogram the information pipeline.

This won’t have to be a scorched-earth play. It would be more like slowly replacing the fuel Trump’s machine runs on…subtly turning the audience toward other narratives…other heroes…other priorities.

If Trump’s echo chamber gets starved…his relevance collapses.

He’s only powerful as long as his message saturates the ecosystem. Elon has the keys to redirect that flow.

7. Out-Trumping Trump on Masculinity and Action

Trump sells strength. That’s always been his core appeal—"I’m a winner. I’m a fighter. I get things done."

But here’s the thing: Elon Musk is actually getting things done…right now…on a world-altering scale. Rockets. AI. Electric cars. Social media platforms. Tunnels. Robots.

Trump builds golf courses and hosts rallies.

When Musk starts leaning into this contrast…positioning himself as the man of relentless action while portraying Trump as a man of relentless complaints…he will strip Trump’s brand of its testosterone coating.

The younger right-wing crowd is already drifting toward action…speed…and disruption. If Elon claims the “doer” mantle…Trump starts to look like the old man yelling at clouds.

It’s a brutal psychological shift. Musk doesn’t need to out-argue Trump. He just needs to out-move him. In the arena of cultural power…action beats noise every time.

Final Thought

Now, let’s be clear…I’m not saying Elon Musk will go down this exact road, or follow this blueprint. But I am saying he could…and that if I was going to bet the farm on what he does…it would likely be what I’ve detailed above.

It looks to be clear…at least to me…that Elon has decided to make that pivot. And guess what? He’s sitting on a mountain of assets that Trump can’t counter:

Attention. Technology. Money. Cultural relevance.

Musk has the levers. Trump doesn’t.

People think power is about who’s in office. That’s small thinking. Real power is about who can shift the direction of the crowd…the conversation…and the cultural current.

Elon Musk can do all three.
Trump may have built the ride.
But Musk owns the tracks.

I’ll be back soon with even more…

Jack

P.S.
Everyone’s watching to see if Musk will tear Trump down. But what if the real threat is what happens if they join forces?

I’m releasing a subscriber-only deep dive tomorrow that maps out this exact possibility—how they could unite…why they might need each other…and what we’d be facing if it happens.

If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, now’s the time. You don’t want to miss this one.