Elaine Mallon writes for the Washington Examiner about notable friendships President-elect Donald Trump made in 2024.
President-elect Donald Trump built bridges with a wide range of people and groups over the last year on his historic road back to the White House.
After spending much of the last decade sparring with Democrats of all stripes and Big Tech platforms, Trump is now stuffing his Cabinet with left-wingers and bragging that “everyone wants to be my friend!!!”
He has made nice with leaders who have compared him to Adolf Hitler, called him a “terrible president,” and said he should not run for office. …
… [Elon] Musk moved quickly. He set up a super PAC that, by October, reportedly spent $80 million on the election to boost Trump. Musk invited Trump to join him on X for a wildly successful and wide-ranging discussion, and he joined Trump for his second rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Since the election, Trump has welcomed Musk at Mar-a-Lago frequently, and Musk has joined the president-elect during transition meetings. …
… In July, [Robert] Kennedy called Trump a “terrible president,” but by the end of August, he suspended his campaign and gave Trump his endorsement.
Throughout the campaign, Trump criticized Kennedy, and like both the Biden and Harris campaign teams, he expressed concerns that Kennedy would be a spoiler for him. Some polls in August suggested that Kennedy would take more votes away from Trump than from Harris. …
… Trump’s embrace of Kennedy extended past the election as he nominated the former independent presidential candidate to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. …
… [Eric] Adams’s meeting with Trump “border czar” Tom Homan garnered accusations from Democrats that Adams is just seeking to win over Trump to save himself. The mayor also called Trump a “great patriot” after the president-elect said he would “certainly look at” pardoning Adams.
