Elon Musk destroyed what a bipartisan group of lawmakers had spent months crafting in a tweet.
In fact, his social media site X saw dozens of posts sent out at a breakneck pace over a 12-hour period last week. In post after post, Mr. Musk slammed the budget deal with a barrage of false claims and threats of electoral retribution against Republican lawmakers who dared support a brokered bill to stop the government shutdown. Ta. And it worked. Republican lawmakers opposed the bill, citing overwhelming pressure from voters spurred by Musk’s posts. “The phone was ringing off the hook,” Republican Rep. Andy Barr told The Associated Press. “The people who elected us are listening to Elon Musk.”
The sight of voters being driven into a frenzy by outsiders with megaphones will be familiar to Republican politicians. For three decades, right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh has bent the party to his will by dangling threats over the heads of his millions of loyal listeners and trusted voters. Musk will test X’s ability to discipline Republicans while also trying to replicate Limbaugh’s singular influence on the Republican Party, amplifying Donald Trump’s political will and asserting his own. I’m also trying to see if I can use that power to do something.
When Limbaugh broke with party leaders, his words cut a path of chaos and destruction in Congress.
In his early days as a nationally syndicated radio host, Limbaugh proved more powerful with the microphone than with the wallet. “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” which began airing nationally in 1988, revolutionized both talk radio and political communication. He quickly built an audience of millions of loyal listeners, who waited for hours in anticipation of a chance to speak with Limbaugh on air. By 1992, he had published two best-selling books, produced a nightly television show, and had the ear of the President of the United States.
President George H.W. Bush, who was embroiled in a tough re-election battle that year, came to see Limbaugh as something of a sleazy whisperer. Even after serving eight years as vice president under Ronald Reagan and four years as president, Bush failed to win the support of right-wing Republicans who flocked to right-wing populist Pat Buchanan in the 1992 Republican primary. Limbaugh, who supported Buchanan over Bush, received a personal invitation from the president to spend the night at the White House on the night Bush was trying to persuade the radio host. Limbaugh readily agreed, praising Bush in the final months of the campaign.
Limbaugh was unable to translate his endorsements into electoral success – Buchanan lost the primary and Bush lost the election – but his notable performance during the campaign made him a key figure in national politics. He increased his status as a person of power. Two years later, when Republican politicians tried to kill the anti-lobbying bill, they asked Limbaugh to attack the bill and the Republican lawmakers who supported it. Limbaugh did. The bill is dead.
Republican lawmakers continued to work with Mr. Limbaugh for decades to come, viewing him as both a strong ally and a potential threat. After all, they could encourage his efforts but not control them, and when Limbaugh broke with party leadership, his words cut a path of chaos and destruction through Congress. Ta. This often took the form of listeners overloading Congressional exchanges with calls and emails on issues ranging from immigration to health care. It wasn’t always clear whether Republicans were frightened by the call or simply used it as a cover to break with party leadership. But each episode helped secure Limbaugh’s legacy as a bill killer.
Limbaugh had the power to destroy but not to create, something Musk is beginning to learn about his post politics. Hours after Musk’s online rant, Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance joined in, pressuring Republicans to oppose the deal. They did just that, scrapping the bipartisan agreement and replacing it with a mask-Trump alternative that was put on the ballot the next day. That bill also failed. A government shutdown was averted with a few hours to spare, but President Trump’s main demand for raising the debt ceiling was not.
Another major difference between the two is Trump’s element.
Mr. Musk differs from Mr. Limbaugh in important ways. While radio hosts were growing their audiences, Musk was buying them. He may be able to amplify a message, but there is no evidence that he can build a political movement. But he has something Limbaugh didn’t have. That’s billions of dollars to spend. All Limbaugh could do was bully politicians. Mr. Musk could buy it.
Another major difference between the two is Trump’s element. Since President Reagan left the White House, Republican politicians have not found a way to build a adoring following. That filled a void for Limbaugh. In 2009, the conservative magazine National Review didn’t even call Limbaugh an “opposition leader,” even though the party had two actual opposition leaders in Congress, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner. is. But Trump filled that power vacuum. So if Mr. Musk wants to be more than Mr. Trump’s ventriloquist, he must face off against a man with an audience of millions, a net worth in the billions, and the power of the U.S. federal government at his disposal. It will have to be done.
However, Trump will not remain in power forever. One of the keys to Limbaugh’s success was his longevity. His influence spanned five presidential administrations. The second Trump administration may not be the culmination of Musk’s political influence, but just the beginning. So Republicans might want to think twice before handing over power to an anti-democratic and unpredictable billionaire. Given his track record on that front, though, Musk may not need to worry too much.
