Boy howdy, President-elect Donald Trump isn’t wasting any time, is he? He has been on the phone with various world leaders, most of whom seem to be reaching out to him to offer congratulations. Israel has to be breathing a sigh of relief. Russia and China are probably a tad apprehensive. The next few weeks will probably see those places changing their operating assumptions some.
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And then, of course, there’s Ukraine. On Wednesday, President-elect Trump spoke with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky, and there was a surprising added voice on that call — Elon Musk. That’s curious.
Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday included two surprises: Elon Musk was also on the line, and Zelensky was somewhat reassured by what he heard from the president-elect, two sources with knowledge of the call tell Axios.
Why it matters: The new details of the call underscore how influential Musk could be in the second Trump administration, and the uncertainty over how exactly Trump will approach Ukraine.
Between the lines: Trump’s public messages throughout the election campaign — promising a quick resolution to the war, declining to say which side he wanted to win and criticizing the massive aid packages flowing from Washington — raised alarm bells in Kyiv and throughout Europe.
Musk did, reportedly, note that he intends to continue supporting Ukraine via his Starlink system – one wonders what Russia will make of that? And, remember, Elon Musk hasn’t exactly been sanguine about the amount of money the United States has been sending Ukraine’s way.
Musk also weighed in during the call to say he will continue supporting Ukraine through his Starlink satellites, the sources said. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
Starlink has been crucial to Ukraine’s war effort, though Musk has also mocked Zelensky’s requests for U.S. aid, and Zelensky rebuked the billionaire for proposing a peace plan of his own in 2022.
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It’s important to note that Tsar Vladimir I of Russia has praised the President-elect and, speaking publicly in a Black Sea resort, offered congratulations on his election victory and, reportedly, to praise Trump’s courage on the Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory in his first public comment on the U.S. vote, and he praised the president-elect’s courage during the July assassination attempt.
“His behavior at the moment of an attempt on his life left an impression on me. He turned out to be a brave man,” Putin said at an international forum following a speech in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
“He manifested himself in the very correct way, bravely as a man,” he added.
As for Trump’s part, he seems to be wasting no time.
See Related: Who You Gonna Call? Trump Reveals Who He Will Phone on First Day in Office
But here’s the curious bit: Why was Elon Musk on the call? What was discussed? What role, if any, will Musk play in the peace process? Will he be involved in calls with any other nations? Musk was a key player on the campaign trail and is expected to be offered a role in streamlining the federal government. But there is, as of this writing, no indication that he will have any role in foreign affairs.
See Related: President-Elect Trump’s Day One: What Will Happen?
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It’s curious. Musk is, obviously, a tech mogul. Did have have something to offer Zelensky to sweeten a proposed peace deal? Does he likewise have something to offer Russia? What role could Musk play in bringing these two nations to the table? Why would Donald Trump invite him on the call, which is obviously what had to have happened?
We won’t know, of course, until some kind of deal is brokered, and only if they are successful in doing so.
What does this tell us? That Donald Trump’s second term will be even less traditional than his first. He’s putting a team together, a team of outsiders, and he’s clearly planning to cut fences and sort some stuff out. It’s going to be fun to watch.
