News Hub Group

News Menu

Elon Musk Risks Damaging Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and Britain

Charles Martin argues that Elon Musk's attacks on Keir Starmer risk damaging US-UK relations, and that Trump ought to dissociate himself with him to protect the special relationship.
Image: Daniel Oberhaus
Image: Daniel Oberhaus

Want to be notified of stories we publish? Enter your email below

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

The first call Keir Starmer received from a foreign leader when he became Prime Minister in July last year was from the President of the United States. On that very call with President Biden, the relationship was labelled “special”, which can be reinforced by the two countries’ warm diplomacy toward one another stretching back many years. Both nations rely heavily on one another on matters of national security, and economics. In the public eye the relationship between President-elect Trump and Starmer has been a cheerful one for the most part, retaining these warm relations. Sirens have most definitely been started to sound in Number 10 once Trump appointed Elon Musk to his cabinet.

Elon Musk as a political figure is something of a peculiar case, and it would not seem to be evident as to what his motivations really are – or why it would seem he cares about what is happening across the Atlantic more than the incoming President himself. In the recent months after Trump’s win it would seem that Musk has ramped up his efforts to try and have major influence over other countries’ policies, prompting UK cabinet minister Wes Streeting to say “I really don’t care what a guy in America has to say about Britain.”. The fact is that this isn’t just a guy in America – he is part of the Cabinet of the United States.

The warm exchanges reciprocated between the two nations has seemed to go amiss in this instance. It is a dangerous place to be for both governments to not have a standard level of diplomacy – and Musk seems to have no issue at firing at UK cabinet ministers, with no exception to the Prime Minister. The FT has reported that Musk has been probing how he could remove Starmer even before the next election. It must be said that this is a bizarre state of affairs to be in, and it must be asked why Musk thinks he has the obligation, let alone authority, to contemplate such a thought. A US cabinet minister wants to force the British Prime Minister out of office – this is a diplomatic crisis.

The fact that Musk is not just the richest man in the world, but close to the incoming President, has put the UK government in a precarious position, and is politically a very hard issue to tackle. This is down to the amount of influence which comes from being in a social position such as Musk’s. They cannot block him out or disregard his comments, as this will only work to his advantage. If they react, this also works to his advantage and also lets him know he is getting a reaction from the highest levels of government.

The issue of Musk raises a huge social debate as to what actually influences us as a society. Perhaps Wes Streeting’s comments contain more substance than first received. We should not care what a wealthy man across the Atlantic has to say about British policy. It would seem for the case of Musk, power and influence is what he is after – and when you have as much wealth as he does this is not surprising. Musk has concerned himself with things he has no authority over and is instead trying to force his way in.

We are fortunate enough that the British constitution protects us to a certain extent from wealthy individuals who seek power over us – and it is going to quickly become apparent that having a mass following on X does not provide you with the right to intrude on domestic British policy affairs. The British Government need to strike a balance of maintaining diplomacy and keeping the threat of Musk at bay.

This prompts the question of if Musk is more of a liability than an asset to Trump himself. There is no denying that Musk is doing a good job at causing tension with other nations – with Starmer and Macron meeting at Chequers to discuss a range of issues, one of them likely being him. Musk was a massive asset to Trump in the election campaign, drawing in the youth vote especially – but perhaps it has got to a point where his usefulness has come to an end. As President of the United States you must keep key players like the UK and France close, with stray comments from American officials being a devastating blow to these relations. Trump cannot keep being associated with Musk for as long as this obsession with the United Kingdom remains.

Follow Politics UK

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments