Elon Musk’s rule by poll

Governing by poll has become a regular gambit for Musk. It promotes his vision of X as a public town square where important decisions are made, and — at least in theory — gives him actual information about what people think. He asked X users whether judges who rule against “the will of the people” should be impeached, and whether DOGE should audit the IRS. (More than two years ago Americans got a preview of this tactic when Musk used a poll to justify his decision to bring then-former President Donald Trump back to the platform.)

For all the debate about whether Musk is or is not some kind of “shadow president,” secretly wielding unchecked power — and all the gossip about where he stands in the never-ending court drama of the Trump White House — his use of X as a would-be legitimizing force points to how he really uses that power. He creates a feedback loop with the platform he owns, to justify any governing decision he wants to make.

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