Democrats are mocking ‘Vice President Trump’ for claiming Elon Musk is really in charge

Democrats are derisively referring to Donald Trump as “vice president” after his political friend Elon Musk took the lead in pushing through a government funding bill that has brought the nation to the brink of a shutdown.

Musk posted more than 100 times on the X Platform he owns on Wednesday, sparking MAGA opposition to the bipartisan bill negotiated by Chairman Mike Johnson to fund the government through March.

In just one of his posts, Musk wrote that any lawmaker who voted in favor “deserves to be voted out.” At the end of the day it was dead.

“Democrats and Republicans have spent months negotiating a bipartisan deal to fund our government. The richest man in the world, President Elon Musk, doesn’t like it. Will Republicans kiss the ring?’ wrote Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

“It’s clear who’s in charge, and it’s not President-elect Donald Trump,” wrote progressive Rep. Parmila Jayapal (D-Wash.), adding her own nickname. “Shadow President Elon Musk railed against the Republicans’ CR all day, managed to kill the bill, and then Trump decided to follow suit.”

Musk’s flurry of messages underscored the sentiment that Trump’s opponents were trying to exploit and came hours before Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance spoke about the deal in a joint statement. Vance had been at the Capitol to meet with lawmakers.

“Look, President Musk has made it clear this morning with all this vast government experience, which basically means he got rich from the federal government, that he doesn’t want Republicans to take this,” said former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who was a member from the January 6 House committee that Trump referred to in his statement against the bill.

“Apparently Vice President Trump was supporting him at the time. And what it says about politics is that this is going to be a messy four years,” he says told CNN– poking at an established narrative that Trump does not like to be overshadowed.

“I think President Elon has made it clear what his agenda is for the next four years,” the former Illinois lawmaker said.

Longtime Democratic strategist David Axlerod pointed out different approaches in statements from Musk and Trump, in which Trump demands that Congress raise the debt ceiling before he takes office, and later says the statutory debt ceiling should be abolished altogether. Musk tweeted that Congress should essentially shut down until Trump takes office. “No bills should be passed by Congress before January 20, when @realDonaldTrump takes office. No. Zero,” Musk wrote.

“They seem to be saying different things, and ultimately they’re going to have to come together and decide who the president is.”

“Let’s get this straight: Anyone watching this needs to buckle up, because this is what the next four years are going to be like. And Speaker Johnson should put on his parachute,” he said.

“It’s pretty clear that they were about to pass the bill, and Musk intervened and Trump followed him. And now we are entering this period of crisis,” he added.

Musk, who was appointed by Trump to lead his Department on Government Efficiency, fought the bill with memes, including one of him about to cut the bill with a sword.

His first message came at 4:15 a.m. when he wrote: “This bill should not be passed.”

Musk continued, writing, “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out of office within two years!”

“Please call your elected representatives immediately to tell them how you feel,” he added.

Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson also made the dig.

‘Wow! Instead of serving the people who elected them by keeping the government open during the holidays, MAGA Musk Republicans have chosen to follow new President Musk’s order to SHUT IT DOWN!” he posted.

Trump and Musk have enjoyed an incredible bromance, with Musk donating millions to his election and campaigning for him in Pennsylvania, and now appearing with him repeatedly at Mar-a-Lago

President-elect Donald Trump listens to Elon Musk as he arrives to watch SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, November 19, 2024

Musk posted numerous messages Wednesday morning disparaging Johnson’s CR

Only 13 hours after Musk’s high-tech lobbying campaign, Trump weighed in on the 1,547-page bill, which included billions for disaster relief, a 3.8 percent raise for lawmakers in 2025, aid for farmers and other provisions.

“Republicans need to get smart and tough,” Trump and Vance’s statement said. “If the Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, call their bluff.”

The Republican duo also outlined how they want Johnson to move forward, indicating they want a “clean CR,” a bill without additional policymakers like disaster relief, money to combat growing Chinese influence and raises for members of Congress who are in the current version. .

“We must pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want,” Trump and Vance said.

Trump, in another post, threatened those who vote against a clean CR, saying, “Any Republican who would be foolish enough to do this must and will be prioritized.”