President Donald Trump no longer mentions Elon Musk in his Truth Social feed, which is then broadcast to other social media platforms. A Politico analysis shows that Trump mentioned Musk an average of four times a week in February and March, but has not mentioned him once since early April.
Musk, who was appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to help cut federal spending, has also reduced the number of public mentions of Trump on his X platform. Until April, the billionaire posted about the US president almost daily, but now those mentions have virtually stopped.
Republican insiders told Politico that Musk's political star has fallen. "He’s finished, done, gone. He polls terrible. People hate him," one Republican said.
Musk's tenure as a "special civil servant" was limited to 130 days, after which he made it clear that he would return to running his businesses, SpaceX and Tesla. "It's been a very intense 100 days," Musk told reporters in April. "We're getting into a rhythm now, so the amount of time I need to spend here is much less."
Musk's involvement in the Trump administration, while providing him with some political clout and government contracts, has dealt a serious blow to his reputation, resulting in protests near Tesla dealerships and a drop in sales of the company's electric vehicles.
Trump's emails to campaign donors also no longer mention Musk by name. According to Politico, Musk was mentioned in those emails almost daily until early March. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt tried to soften the sense of a complete disconnect by reassuring reporters that DOGE's work "will certainly continue," though she did not mention Musk directly.
Meanwhile, Democrats seized on Musk's declining popularity as evidence that Republicans have misplaced their priorities. "Elon is ... an instantly recognizable manifestation of the fact that House Republicans are not working for the American people, but for billionaires," said Viet Shelton, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
As the midterm elections approach, party strategists on both sides will be watching closely to see whether Elon Musk will remain on the sidelines or once again become a central figure in the struggle for political influence.