Haberman suggests Trump 'showing off' by having Musk join Zelensky call
CNN political analyst and The New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman suggested that President-elect Trump's decision to have billionaire Elon Musk join his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a "way of showing off" to the leader.
"I think it is a trust thing. I also just think it is that the Trump likes to impress other people, and Elon Musk is the richest man in the world, and that's one way of showing off for Zelensky," Haberman told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Friday.
"I also think it's something of a dominance play," Haberman added.
During the interview, Haberman pointed to reporting from The Wall Street Journal of alleged contact between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Musk.
"There has been a lot of reporting about that in The Wall Street Journal, and I don't think that that is completely out of Donald Trump's head when he is doing this," Haberman said.
"I mean, this call attracted a lot of attention for a variety of reasons. Musk's various connections to the government and interest in government approvals and government contracts and so forth is going to be a big discussion in the coming months," she added.
Following Trump's election, Zelensky said that he had a productive conversation with Trump after the Republican secured his presidential victory.
“It was a productive conversation, a good conversation,” Zelensky said of his phone call with Trump on Wednesday. “Of course, we cannot yet know what his actions will be. But we do hope that America will become stronger."
“This is the kind of America that Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs, to my mind,” he continued. “This is the connection between allies that must be valued and cannot be lost.”
When asked during the interview how much influence Musk could have during Trump's second term, Haberman said she thinks the billionaire could have "a lot" of influence, citing his frequent appearances at Mar-a-Lago.
"I do think that he will be influential. Does it mean he is going to influence every single thing? No. But he is certainly going to leave his imprint, even if he never actually formally joins the government," Haberman said.
-
Elon Musk Joined Trump’s Call With Zelensky
Top stories - The New York Times - November 8 -
Elon Musk joined Trump's call with Zelensky
Politics - The Hill - November 8 -
Bolton on Musk joining Trump's Zelensky call: 'I wouldn't get too hyper thyroid about it'
Politics - The Hill - November 9 -
Elon Musk Made Appearance on Trump-Zelensky Call
World - The Wall Street Journal - November 8 -
Elon Musk briefly joins Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Top stories - NBC News - November 9 -
Military officials reportedly discuss how to handle illegal orders from Trump – live
World - The Guardian - November 9 -
Musk joins Trump in D.C. for meetings
Top stories - CBS News - November 13 -
Trump, Musk join hands on foreign policy
Politics - The Hill - November 8
More from The Hill
-
Bill O'Reilly: Donald Trump Cabinet will have zero policy input
Politics - The Hill - 42 minutes ago -
Will DOGE put spending on the chopping block?
Politics - The Hill - 48 minutes ago -
Stephen A. Smith: Trump may have ulterior motive for Gaetz pick
Politics - The Hill - 53 minutes ago -
What RFK Jr. could — and couldn't — do with vaccines as HHS chief
Politics - The Hill - 1 hour ago -
World War III is now Trump's to lose
Politics - The Hill - 1 hour ago