Elon Musk, Extremely Popular With GOP Voters, Is Poised to Heavily Influence Trump’s Washington

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Billionaire Elon Musk has seen a huge growth in his popularity among Republicans nationwide over the past year as he’s aggressively supported Donald Trump, underscoring his potential to carry enormous sway at the outset of a GOP-led Washington. 

According to a new Morning Consult survey, 72% of Republican voters view the SpaceX, Tesla and X executive favorably, up from 52% in a survey conducted in November 2023. That improvement marks a reversal of trends from April 2022 to November 2023, when he saw his popularity decline among the conservative base during his time as an enthusiastic backer of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential ambitions.

Democrats and independents have soured on Musk over the past couple of years as he has raised his profile, amounting to a slightly negative net favorability rating among voters overall.

That high awareness of Musk, recently dubbed Trump’s “shadow vice president” by The Guardian, leaves the business mogul’s popularity roughly in line with that of actual Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-Ohio), among both the overall electorate and core Republican voters.

While Musk’s favorability rating is less than Trump’s, he is far more popular than House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who remains largely unknown after a year as Capitol Hill’s most powerful politician.

The survey comes as Musk flexes his influence in the Trump world following a campaign in which he spent millions of dollars on get-out-the-vote efforts to boost Republicans and used his social media platform to advance conservative messaging. Following Trump’s victory, he’s said he’ll engage with his super PAC in Republican primaries and even endorsed Sen. Rick Scott to be the next Senate Republican leader. 

Beyond the campaign trail, Musk has been tapped to play a role advising the incoming Trump administration on reducing federal spending and the size of the government. The issue ranks relatively high on voters’ priority list for a Trump-led Washington, and few voters have expressed resistance to his elevation — especially Republicans.

Among the GOP electorate, over half (53%) said Musk should play a “major role” in the next Trump administration, just slightly higher than the 49% who said the same of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former 2024 presidential candidate who’s testing the limits of his own influence over Trump as the president-elect works to fill health-related positions. 

Kennedy, who has caught attention for his posture on vaccines, is slightly lesser known than Musk. But since he launched his campaign before ultimately endorsing Trump in August, he has experienced a similar polarization in views that’s left him well-liked on the right.

Compared to when he launched his presidential campaign in April 2023, Democrats have grown more likely to hold unfavorable views about Kennedy (25% to 62%) while Republicans have grown more likely to see him positively (40% to 66%). Independent voters, like the larger electorate, are divided about him.

The bottom line

Whether or not Musk or Kennedy are actually put up by Trump for a Senate-confirmed position — a potentially perilous endeavor — is beside the point (Musk’s current appointment wouldn’t require it). The two have grown their names in ways that give them authority in Washington without a job title given their standing with Republican voters, whose voices are so pivotal among a likely GOP-led Congress so focused on winning primary elections.

With Musk in particular, who’s reportedly made himself at home at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and is already flexing his political muscle on the capital amid its political shake-up, there’s little resistance to him helping to guide the direction of the next administration, and the conservative movement that has made the 45th president the 47th.

This sets up an unprecedented partnership between the White House and the world’s richest man whose business is fueled in part by government contracts, making the strength of their relationship one of the most important things to watch in Republican politics.