In the Trump and Musk Divorce, Who Gets Custody of MAGA?

MAGA is splitting up the family group chat and it's getting messy.

It was a political marriage of convenience, forged in memes, mutual admiration, and the shared belief that the government should be either defunded or personally run by them. A same sects marriage—one between an internet oligarch and a former TV oligarch—sealed not with a kiss, but a $250 million flirtation involving NASA contracts, Twitter unbannings, and MAGA-branded algorithmic engagement.

But now, like all toxic breakups that play out in public, it’s getting ugly. Really ugly.

It started with Elon Musk’s now-viral “Kill Bill” post on his X platform—a not-so-subtle takedown of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” a debt-exploding Frankenstein of MAGA populism and swampy spending. Musk had clearly had enough. And Trump, unsurprisingly, took the bait. In classic Trumpian fashion, he threatened to pull every federal contract, tax break, and benefit Musk enjoyed from his time running DOGE.

Classic Trump 3D Art-of-the-Deal checkers.

Then Elon went nuclear: he floated the bombshell that maybe, just maybe, the reason Trump still hasn’t released the Epstein files is because… he’s in them.

And just like that, Daddy Trump and Daddy Elon are getting a divorce. The prenup? Nonexistent. The couples therapy? Nope. The custody battle? Well, that’s where things get complicated. Musk and Trump have a lot of MAGA kids, and like any dysfunctional family raised on a steady diet of mean tweets and memes, it’s going to get messy.

For a while, the pairing worked. Trump got unbanned on Twitter (sorry, X), Musk got his hands on taxpayer-funded government contracts and regulatory goodwill, and both men got a boost from the other’s following. They both loathed mainstream media. They both loved trolling liberals. And they both thought facts were negotiable.

But the bromance cracked once policy started mattering again. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is a budget-busting monster, the kind of thing that makes actual fiscal conservatives like Sen. Rand Paul break into hives. Elon, ever the libertarian technocrat, couldn’t resist needling Trump over it, and suddenly their differences weren’t just philosophical, they were personal. Musk, who had led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed to slash federal spending by $2 trillion, but only achieved $160 billion in cuts, with critics arguing that these cuts cost taxpayers $135 billion due to lost productivity and rehiring costs. Musk’s efforts were further undermined by the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which he criticized for inflating the national debt by $5 trillion and undoing DOGE’s work.

Now we’ve got a front-row seat to the world’s richest man subtweeting the world’s loudest man while the rest of us pass the popcorn.

So who gets custody of the MAGA kids?

Let’s start with the principled ones—yes, they exist. These are the ideological orphan kids who still care about deficits and the Constitution. They’re packing their bags and heading to live with Uncle Rand (Paul) and Uncle Thomas (Massie), whose recent posts skewered Trump’s bill for its fiscal gluttony. These kids might be weird libertarians purists, but at least they read the fine print.

Then you’ve got the Cybertruck MAGA crowd. These are the dudes who bought Elon’s electric beast, wrapped it with “Lets Go Brandon” and all sorts of MAGA narratives. They loved Elon until two days ago and now don’t know what to think. Is it MAGA if it’s electric? Is it un-American to support Trump if Elon gets canceled? These poor souls are headed straight for joint custody—with alternating holidays, a steady diet of protein powder and steroid, rage lifting at the gym because they told everyone else to “F*ck their feelings!”

Next, the MAGA Influencers & Grifter Kids. These are the content farmers whose entire careers are built on livestreaming outrage from inside their bedroom recording studios. They’re in a real bind. Musk owns the algorithm. Trump owns the narrative. They post on X to make money but worship Trump for the brand. They’re still pretending Truth Social matters, while sneakily begging Elon’s team not to deboost them. It’s a mess. Expect them to side with whichever daddy makes them the most money.

Then we have the Christian Nationalist crowd—the homeschool pastors and merch-slinging prophets who told their congregations that Trump was anointed by God and maybe even is God, depending on how much they tithe. They’re sticking with Trump. After all, God doesn’t change his mind (unless Elon buys a church). But if the Epstein files thing turns out to be true? That’s going to require a lot of mental gymnastics—but that works for them. They are used to ignoring the abuse of minors.

And finally, there’s the Aryan Bros. These are the Nick Fuentes types—the Groyper movement that mixes Christian Nationalism with a healthy splash of full-blown Nazi cosplay. Fuentes has already been souring on Trump for being “too soft,” and Musk’s blend of irony and crypto-fascism appeals to their sensibilities. But Musk’s complicated libertarianism and move to the middle could make him a hard sell. They’re sniffing around for whoever will platform them without tanking their reach.

What’s playing out here is less a political disagreement than a clash of egos in a reality-TV universe where both men think they’re the main character. Trump sees Musk as an ungrateful sidekick. Musk sees Trump as a washed-up relic standing in the way of progress. Neither wants to share the spotlight, and both think they built MAGA.

Trump believes he gave Elon access to power. Elon believes he gave Trump the presidency with his $250 million spent to help him win battleground states like Wisconsin. The truth is they both exploited the MAGA movement for their own gain, and now that it’s breaking down, the kids are left to fend for themselves.

It’s a classic “secty” split—two ideologies from the same tribe fighting for the soul of the congregation. But instead of theological arguments, it’s memes, policies, and Epstein files.

This divorce might be hilarious to those of us stuck in the middle—the same folks who’ve spent years getting nothing but the finger from MAGA’s purity police. But the real question is what President Trump does when his base is split, his influencers are torn, and the spotlight isn’t all on him. In classic tail-wags-dog fashion, does he pull something reckless—like bombing Iran—just to force his fractured following to rally around him again?

America needs stability now, more than ever.

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About the Author
Gregory Graf is the creator of Political Potatoes and a lifelong conservative Republican. His articles often criticize the hypocrisy committed by far-right grifters who’ve taken control of the GOP. Graf is the CEO of Snake River Strategies, a strategic communications and political consulting firm based in Eagle, Idaho. You can follow Graf’s work on X, Threads, or Facebook.

Disclaimer
The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in exercising their official duties. No implications or inferences—beyond those explicitly stated in the preceding— are intended to be conveyed or endorsed by the Author. Wherever available, hyperlinks have been provided to allow readers to directly access any underlying assertions of fact upon which this opinion is based.

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