--- title: "Elon Musk “Finished,” His Close Allies Admit" description: "Elon Musk's time within Donald Trump's White House has expired, and Republicans are already dancing on his grave." date: "2025-05-20" modified: "2025-05-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/officials-elon-musk-finished-gone" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "republicans" --- # Elon Musk “Finished,” His Close Allies Admit ![Elon Musk's time within Donald Trump's White House has expired, and Republicans are already dancing on his grave.]() *\Image: Win McNamee via Getty / Futurism\* Elon Musk's time within the government has seemingly expired, and some Republicans couldn't be happier. "He’s finished, done, gone," one GOP official, who was [granted anonymity by *Politico*]() to talk trash, said of Musk. "He polls terrible. People hate him." That operative and others like him are already dancing on the unelected billionaire's grave. As the magazine found in a social media analysis, Musk is now persona non grata for Republicans. After a big spike in late January of Musk-related content from accounts linked to the Trump administration, mentions of the billionaire have steadily fallen as the backlash against his politicking began in earnest. By April, he was only being mentioned twice a day — and by the time this month began, that number had dropped to one. "The public supported the effort to end wasteful Washington spending, but they did not support the way that it was done," GOP pollster Frank Luntz told the magazine. "His mission to cut the waste from Washington was certainly helpful, but the language he used wasn’t." Polls across the political spectrum show that although Trump's approval rating has [been leveling out](), people have [soured tremendously on Musk](). Musk's sudden silence on political matters underscores a growing disillusionment and a realization that his time leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency may [have been a failure](). It's possible the writing was already on the wall, inspiring the billionaire to leave a government in tatters behind to refocus his efforts on his ailing businesses instead. Looking ahead to the 2026 midterms, Republicans who spoke to *Politico* on the record chose their words carefully when asked about the increasingly unpopular multi-hyphenate who ushered Trump back into office. "Those polls on favorability basically tell you Elon’s doing a great job when he’s on the inside," leveled David McIntosh, the CEO of the conservative Club for Growth, in his interview with the magazine. "And hopefully he stays a long time to do that, but doesn’t take on this role of a campaign surrogate." The GOP operative who spoke anonymously, meanwhile, had a vastly different take about Musk's campaigning. "He'd go to Wisconsin thinking he can buy people’s votes, wear the cheese hat, act like a 9-year-old," the official told *Politico*, referencing the Wisconsin federal judge race that the Trump-backed candidate may have lost due to Musk's campaign trail antics. "It doesn’t work," that operative said. "It’s offensive to people." **More on Musk's dying political career:** [*Ex-FBI Agent: Elon Musk's Drug Habit Made Him an Easy Target for Russian Spies*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()