The Billionaire Cage Match Is Cosplay. The Real Bloodbath Is the Budget Bill.

Let me save you some scrolling: the Trump-Musk feud is not real. It’s political theater. It’s two mega-wealthy blowhards playing out a fake fight in the spotlight while something much darker creeps through Congress: a budget bill that would gut healthcare, strip public services, and toss millions of Americans into medical and financial chaos.

You’ve seen the headlines: Elon Musk called Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” a “disgusting abomination” (Reuters). Trump fired back, threatening to cancel federal contracts with Musk’s companies (New York Post). Musk lobbed Epstein references. Trump threatened to ban X. It’s messy. Loud. Made for clicks.

They Bicker, We Bleed

And while the public watches these two puffed-up egomaniacs stage a feud so phony it makes reality TV look like a documentary, the House GOP’s budget bill gets less media attention. A bill that could kick millions of Americans off health insurance, gut Medicaid, and skyrocket preventable deaths (CBO via KFF) is not nearly as entertaining as two grown men blowing raspberries at each other.

This isn’t new. In fact, it’s straight out of the Wag the Dog playbook.

Yes, I know. The movie Wag the Dog came out in 1997. It’s practically vintage at this point. But it’s also disturbingly on point. In the film, a political fixer and a Hollywood producer fabricate a war overseas to distract the American public from a presidential sex scandal. The message? When your actions are indefensible, change the subject—loudly, and with flair. Manufactured chaos becomes the cover for real corruption.

Sound a little too convenient? Maybe. But this pattern isn’t new, and it’s not theory. It’s well-documented. Trump and Musk both lean on loud distractions when headlines get too hot or policies get too ugly. Here’s just a sample:

Distraction Tactics by Musk and Trump

• Apr 2017 – Trump: Ordered Syria airstrikes during Russia probe. (Consortium News)
• Jan 2020 – Trump: Killed Soleimani during impeachment trial. (The Guardian)
• Jun 2020 – Trump: Staged Bible photo op at St. John’s during BLM protests. (Time)
• Aug 2020 – Trump: Threatened TikTok ban during campaign and COVID fallout. (NPR)
• May 2021 – Musk: Shilled DogeCoin on Twitter as Tesla faced regulatory heat. (Reuters)
• Feb 2025 – Musk: Took his 4-year-old nose-picking son to Oval Office during scrutiny over federal workforce downsizing. (AP News)
• Mar 2025 – Musk: Made culture war comments amid labor/environment criticism. (The Poke)
• Jun 2025 – Trump & Musk: Launched feud during budget vote to bury healthcare cuts.
• Jun 2025 – Trump: Deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles during Senate budget discussions.

Need more proof the feud’s a decoy? According to a Data for Progress poll, just 44 out of 1,200 Americans mentioned the GOP budget bill when asked what news story they’d heard most about recently. Meanwhile, 102 people said they’d heard about Musk leaving the Trump orbit (Qasim Rashid). That means more people were following a tech bro temper tantrum than were aware their neighbors might soon lose healthcare.

And the Healthcare Losses Aren’t Theoretical

A Yale-led study estimates that if this budget passes, 51,000 preventable deaths could occur each year due to loss of coverage (Qasim Rashid). Meanwhile, cable news gives wall-to-wall coverage to a billionaire bickering session.

And both of them win. Musk’s net worth has ballooned by more than $200 billion since he started publicly aligning with Trump’s policy agenda (Business Insider). Federal investigations into Musk’s labor and environmental violations? Magically disappeared (Vanity Fair). Trump gets to act tough while signing off on legislation that funnels more wealth to billionaires like him.

So no, this isn’t some epic breakup. It’s a script. A spectacle. A “look over here!” moment designed to keep Americans distracted while their rights, benefits, and futures are quietly sold off in the backroom.

Billionaire Theatre As Policy

Even Musk’s so-called resistance to the budget is all PR. He used his influence to push this very bill through, threatening Republicans who considered opposing it. He only started trash-talking it after the backlash hit and after it passed (The Guardian). That’s not moral courage. That’s brand damage control.

So go ahead, laugh at the memes. It’s healthy to mock the powerful. But don’t forget what’s really going on: a brutal piece of legislation designed to hollow out the social contract and pad billionaire portfolios.

What To Do Instead

• Call your senators. Tell them to vote NO on the One Big Beautiful Budget Disaster.

• Share the facts. The cuts. The deaths. The cost.

• Challenge the noise. Don’t let media headlines about Musk and Trump take the place of actual watchdog journalism.

Let the billionaires playfight. But let’s make sure we’re not the ones getting knocked out in the end.