President Donald Trump and multibillionaire Elon Musk are involved in a very public breakup resulting from Musk’s criticism of Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”
The schism between the two figures pits a racist billionaire against a right-wing president with his own racism and corruption issues, along with a heavy dose of wannabe dictator goals. And, according to a YouGov poll released Thursday, the majority of Americans—52%—want neither of them to win.
But some Democratic officials are being wet blankets about the fun being made at the expense of Musk and Trump.
“When 15 million Americans lose their health care and plunge into personal crisis, none of them are going to give a shit about a made-for-clicks twitter fight between two billionaires arguing about who gets the bigger share of the corruption spoils,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut wrote on Bluesky.
Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois sounded a similar note, writing on Bluesky that “Trump and Elon’s breakup is a distraction.”
But the two apparently well-meaning members of Congress aren’t reading the room well at all.
Yes, the slap fight between Musk and Trump is clownish and more akin to a high school lunchroom—or reality TV—than a White House proceeding, but that’s the point. Thanks to Trump and his GOP allies, this low level of behavior, straight out of the “Mean Girls” playbook, is on display for the entire world to see.
It’s a teachable, mockable moment that undermines the legislation that triggered the meltdown in the first place.
A quick glance at sources like Google’s trending topics shows enormous interest in the fight. That presents an opportunity to then inform voters about the harm that the bill will do—cutting health care from millions—and the childish lawmakers who support it.
Mocking the fight between Trump and Musk is a win-win situation. Fortunately, a lot of Democrats across the party’s big ideological tent seem to get it. With varying degrees of success, Democrats in key leadership positions are mocking the meltdown.
At the highest level of the party, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted a popcorn emoji alongside a screenshot of one of Musk’s pouty tweets about Trump.
In a conversation with reporters, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York laughed at the fight, saying that “the girls are fighting, aren’t they?”
“You know, when I first got into politics, men would always tell me that WOMEN were too emotional to lead,” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington wrote on Bluesky.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota also dunked on the divorcees, writing, “Too bad there wasn’t a prenup…”
And Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas compared the GOP spectacle to trashy daytime television, while Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said the fight was what happens “when the unelected billionaire who bought you the White House is going nuclear on Twitter…”
The mockery, echoing the public’s distaste for both Musk and Trump, is the kind of pile-on that Democrats have needed since Trump won the 2024 election. The party has been repeatedly fumbling for a response and a way to break through to the public that doesn’t follow day-to-day political developments.
And this is a way in.
Figures like Trump and Musk rely on a faux machismo public image to accomplish their mission of undermining democracy and the social safety net. Fights like this—and the derision they attract—are an excellent way of revealing their vulnerabilities.
That’s why the right’s defenders and propagandists at outlets like Fox News got so upset when Democrats raised the issue of “TACO,” the Wall Street sentiment that “Trump Always Chickens Out” on his tariffs.
History has shown that this is the way to undermine and ultimately defeat would-be strongmen. As the world began to confront the rise of fascism in the 1930s and 1940s with Adolf Hitler, comic icon Charlie Chaplin lampooned Hitler’s absurdity in the classic film “The Great Dictator.”
After the United States entered the war, Disney produced the cartoon “Der Fuhrer’s Face,” highlighting the ridiculousness of fascism and Hitler—including Donald Duck throwing a tomato at Hitler’s face and mocking the notion of Nazis self-image of a “master race.”
Serious times require humor, satire, and mockery. Not everything can be a sober policy response hitting legitimate facts and figures. That would work in an ideal world, but the real world is intrigued by spectacle, mess, and drama.
It’s notable that the Musk-Trump breakup has largely unified Democrats in pointing to their track record of malfeasance.
Now isn’t the time to pull back and hope for the perfect moment. It’s the time to pile on more and more mockery to stop their odious agenda and to protect Americans that the GOP is dead set on harming.