As Donald Trump takes office, there’s ongoing speculation about the durability of his unusually close friendship and ‘bromance’ with visionary billionaire Elon Musk.
A significant number of Americans appear optimistic about their relationship according to a new exclusive DailyMail/J.L. Partners survey.
Forty percent believe the unlikely duo will be on good terms by the end of Trump’s second term. Thirty-two percent of Americans did not believe the friendship would last and 28 percent were unsure.
The poll featured 1,009 registered voters with a 3.4 percent margin of error and was conducted between January 10-12.
Republicans are even more optimistic about the friendship lasting, clearly encouraged by that they have seen so far.
Sixty-five precent of Republicans say the friendship between Musk and Trump last and only 14 percent do not.
Dubbed the ‘First Buddy’ of the president-elect, Musk spent several days with Trump and his family as he celebrated the his successful political comeback.
Musk also sat in some of Trump’s phone calls with world leaders, joined the president-elect and his family for meals and was frequently sighted at Mar-a-Lago while Trump was putting together his cabinet.
Trump traveled with the billionaire to personally witness a SpaceX launch at his launchpad in Texas. Musk also traveled with Trump aboard his private plane to attend a UFC fight with a group of his closest political allies as well as the Army-Navy football game.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vice President-elect JD Vance attend the 125th Army-Navy football game
Elon Musk speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas
Musk enjoys a sky-high approval rating with Republicans, particularity after purchasing Twitter and loosening up censorship bans and controls on conservatives using the platform that he rebranded with the name of X.
Seventy-one percent of Republicans view Musk favorably, but that could all come crashing down if Trump pushes him aside. Sixty-eight percent of Republicans said they would side with Trump if the pair had a falling out.
The president-elect ultimately appointed Musk to help lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), giving him an official role in his administration.
Musk is expected to even have an office at the White House complex, in the Executive Office Building across the street, as one of the world’s richest men will enjoy a closer physical proximity to the president than any of his counterparts.
Trump has enjoyed Musk’s input and the resources that he offers, as he has marveled at Musk’s Starlink broadband satellite internet system and the rockets that can land by themselves or even get snatched out of the sky for reuse.
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Elon Musk travels with President-elect Donald Trump and his political entourage
US President-elect Donald Trump, singer Kid Rock and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pose for a photo as they attend UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden
Musk’s engagement with the governing process extended to the short term funding fight on Capitol Hill in December as he posted his opposition to an early House Republican agreement with Democrats, ultimately killing the bipartisan 1,547-page bill.
Democrats were outraged by Musk’s demonstration of political power, launching a critical narrative the the billionaire was secretly the ‘real president’ of the United States.
But Trump dismissed the claims as another hoax, reminding his supporters that as man born in Africa, Musk could never be the president of the United States.
‘I like having smart people,’ he told supporters at a Turning Point USA event in December. ‘Isn’t it nice to have smart people that we can rely on?’
Musk’s goodwill with Trump’s MAGA supporters was threatened over the Christmas holiday, after he endorsed the use of H-1B visas to bring foreign workers into the United States to work for tech companies.
Elon Musk speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and guests at a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship
Elon Musk and his son attend dinner at Mar-a-Lago with President-elect Donald Trump
The widely popular billionaire and self-described ‘free-speech absolutist’ warned prominent MAGA figures who attacked him for his position that changes to the algorithm would be made that could affect them. Some even claimed that Musk removed their verified badge, hurting their reach on the platform.
Trump lightly trolled Musk during the controversy, suggesting he should return to Mar-a-Lago for the holiday festivities rather than get in fights on social media.
‘Where are you?’ Trump wrote to Musk on his Truth Social platform. ‘When are you coming to the ‘Center of the Universe,’ Mar-a-Lago.’
Musk’s defense of H1-B visas also angered former Trump strategist and senior counselor Steve Bannon said he would make it his mission to keep Musk away from any position of influence during Trump’s second term as president.
‘He will not have a blue pass to the White House, he will not have full access to the White House, he will be like any other person,’ Bannon said in an interview with Italian news outlet Corriere della Sera describing the tech billionaire as ‘a truly evil guy.’
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