The rumble in the cradle

Sooner or later, everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.

–Robert Louis Stevenson

Surely there can’t be very many people around the world who aren’t by now aware of the childish spat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk. If you didn’t know, good for you, and if you don’t give a flying fuck, that’s even more commendable.

The rest of us are either ordinarily or unnaturally invested in the degrading lives of two of the worst examples of the human species. Yet others may simply be enjoying the hourly hilarity spawned by the shenanigans of these two, even if voyeuristically. I confess to being both ordinarily invested in their insane antics while laughing my socks off at the same time.

With two gigantic egos circling each other in such close proximity, it was only a matter of time before a cosmic collision. I was not only expecting it, but I had my fingers crossed that it would happen. I didn’t think the toxic bromance would end this soon, however.

The first thought that crossed my mind was of the famed rumble in the jungle between boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire in 1974. Only this time, it was a rumble in the cradle between two heavyweight man-babies. I can’t think of a better metaphor.

As an aside, there’s a common allegation that Americans won’t elect a woman to the office of President because they’re emotionally unpredictable. It’s the kind of sexism that has been proven to be unfounded in many countries around the world that do elect female leaders to the highest office. It seems Americans prefer the emotional consistency of a narcissist like Trump or Musk.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that the female candidates who came closest to being elected, namely, Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris, had a propensity for warmongering. I must concede, however, that Harris may have been coerced into that position by the Democrats’ inhumane support for Israel in the Gaza genocide.

However, coming back to our current set of emotional delinquents, I’m not going to get into the infantile barbs being lobbed at each other by Trump and Musk. It’s very public and very humiliating. But it’s also comedic gold. Long may it last.