The False Choice Between Elon Musk And “Populism”

The billionaire is a better ally than left-wing unions

Donald Trump’s X space with Elon Musk stirred up the usual controversy last week. Media outlets declared Musk a threat to democracy simply for hosting the conversation on his platform. We’re apparently not supposed to hear from a former president who may well be the next commander in chief.

Democrats honed in on one particular comment to make a campaign issue. Trump praised Musk for firing Twitter workers who tried to resist the tech mogul’s takeover. “I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, ‘That’s okay, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone,’” Trump said in praise of Elon.

The statement drew a glut of attacks from the Left. The UAW even filed a formal complaint about it with the National Labor Relations Board and claimed it proves Trump is a “scab.”

Joining in the chorus of denunciation were a fair number of conservative who style themselves “populists.” Postliberal blogger Sohrab Ahmari wrote an angry condemnation of Trump’s statement for a British left-wing magazine. “Trump will have to choose: populism or Elon Musk,” Ahmari asserted. The article represents a right-wing pipe dream that imagines unions are ready to vote Republican, so long as the GOP becomes more “pro-worker.” This fanciful idea ignores the true nature of unions, their potential to switch parties, and how much this “realignment” would harm an authentic right-wing agenda.

When self-declared populists express a fondness for unions, they envision them as the working class of the mid-20th century. Union workers, in the conservative imagination, stand as natural conservatives who love old-time religion, the family, and the flag. They work in traditional blue collar occupations and just want a party to protect their jobs and traditional American values. 

This may describe some union workers, but this is no longer the norm of organized labor. Most union workers are in the public sector. The most powerful unions are far from the traditional blue collar occupations. Out of the five largest unions, only one (the Teamsters) represents the stereotypical workingman. The other four either represent teachers, service sector workers, or government employees. Much of the recent unionization efforts come from jobs where the workers would be far from interested in voting Republican. Starbucks’ baristas, tech workers, and journalists are some of the most eager professions looking to unionize. There is little chance these workers would back a right-wing agenda. Some of these organizing workers, such as Google employees, are organizing specifically to shut down right-wing views.

When thinking about unions, Twitter employees organizing to suppress conservative speech is a more accurate picture than truck drivers banding together against illegal immigration.

To his credit, Ahmari is one of the few pro-union conservatives to understand this. “In reality, the American workforce – people with no means of sustaining and reproducing themselves but for selling their labour power for wages – also includes the likes of university adjuncts, a slew of downwardly mobile professionals, and, yes, tech administrators,” he wrote in his recent column. But he still thinks conservatives should stand up for these left-wing workers. 

It’s unclear why the Right should take this position. These people show no inclination to vote Republican or support a right-wing agenda.  Organized labor isn’t just economically left-wing; most unions also endorse cultural leftism. Several unions endorse DEI, especially the teachers’ unions. The majority of them backed Black Lives Matter during the 2020 riots. Organized labor also supports mass immigration, despite some unions in the past advocating for restricted immigration. Several unions publicly support the LGBT agenda. And so on and so forth. 

There isn’t much common ground between Republicans and the majority of unions. Even if the GOP adopted a fully pro-union agenda, it is given that these groups would suddenly back the Right. Their power is invested in the Democrats, and that’s who they’re most aligned with. They aren’t going to break for Republicans anytime soon.

If forced to choose, Elon is the better pick. Musk turned Twitter into a right-wing website that actively promotes once forbidden ideas. Elon now embraces many of these ideas, from the Great Replacement to the true color of crime. He told Trump that immigration is an existential issue for our country. Musk gives money to right-wing causes, including Trump, and advances free speech principles. The billionaire is more on our side than union leadership. There’s no reason to reject his favor.

The Right doesn’t face a choice here. On one hand, we have a charismatic billionaire entertaining race realism and turning his large platform into a massive right-wing propaganda vehicle. On the other, we have the chief organizing apparatus of the Left that supports every woke agenda item. This is a very easy choice.

We don’t have to agree with Elon on everything and the GOP should not serve as his personal lobby. However, no serious conservative should be upset he fired leftist Twitter employees who resisted his efforts to restore free speech to the platform. That was a serious win for the Right. These Twitter employees deserve to be fired and our country would be a lot better off if more like them received pink slips. 

The “populism” espoused by Sohrab Ahmari and other dimwitted post-liberals have no real base and few ties to reality. It is a quaint fantasy that sounds nice to those within their own bubble and enables them to get columns in left-wing publications. (Some liberals want to indulge this fantasy.) But it doesn’t deserve a serious hearing.

The future of the American Right doesn’t lie with Starbucks’ unions. Powerful men like Elon Musk waking up to the dangers we face is far more consequential than septum-pierced baristas demanding 25 dollars an hour. The choice should only be hard for morons.