Political commentator and CNN contributor Ana Navarro has suggested that tech bro Elon Musk was acting as Donald Trump’s “First Lady” after she spotted him in a photo in which Melania Trump was missing.
In a panel on CNN’s AC360, Navarro said she had also found it “a little weird” that Elon Musk was present on a call between President-elect Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Elon Musk seems to be everywhere at all times. He’s like, secretary of everything, and at the same time, he’s like First Lady,” she said. “The other day I saw this picture of him. It was a picture of Trump with his entire family except Melania, but Elon Musk was there. And now you hear about this.”
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The reference was made to a picture of the “whole squad” posted online by Kai Trump, Donald’s teenage granddaughter. While several members of the Trump family were in the picture–as well as Musk–Melania Trump was suspiciously missing.
Navarro also raised her concerns about Musk’s power and influence over the incoming Trump administration despite being the billionaire owner of Tesla, Starlink and SpaceX.
“There’s obviously also conflicts of interest. This is somebody who has contracts with the Department of Defense. This is somebody who has Starlink that’s a big part of what’s going on in Ukraine.”
Musk has already played a major geopolitical role during the conflict in Ukraine.
He was at the center of a scandal last year when it was revealed that he thwarted a Ukrainian attack on Russia’s naval fleet in Crimea in 2022 over not enabling the Starlink satellite connection. Musk blamed the lack of connection on sanctions against Crimea, with the government failing to give him approval to turn it on.
Navarro was responding to remarks made by Republican political strategist Scott Jennings, who was asked by CNN host Anderson Cooper what he made of reports that Musk joined Trump on the call.
“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” he said. “Of course, Donald Trump can put anyone on the phone that he wants. I mean, I assume a lot of these calls are congratulatory in nature. So, as further, more policy-driven calls take place, I would expect there to be other policy and administration officials or designated officials on the calls.”
“But at some juncture, Trump won, and he’s got a cadre of advisers that’s obviously gonna include Elon Musk. And so, I don’t think anybody should be surprised by this or alarmed by it either way.”
Axios reported that Trump promised Zelensky that he would be “happy.” Musk reportedly said he would continue offering Ukrainians internet access via his satellites.
