First Buddy (Elon Musk)

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About

First Buddy is an informal title given to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk following reports that he was hanging out with President-elect Donald Trump consistently following his November 2024 presidential reelection. The term was coined by CNN correspondent Gloria Borger and was embraced by Musk, who commented on a video of CNN discussing Musk and Trump's relationship, "I’m happy to be first buddy! 😂." The term inspired discourse in mid-November 2024, including mockery and memes, aimed at Elon Musk.

Origin

On November 11th, 2024, X^[1] user @MarioNawfal posted a clip from CNN News Central in which CNN Correspondent Gloria Borger says that she thinks Elon Musk is becoming "first buddy" at the White House due to how much he's hanging around Trump since his reelection, garnering over 9,200 likes in three days. Later that day, Musk commented^[2] under the post, writing, "I’m happy to be first buddy! 😂," garnering over 33,000 likes and 2,300 reposts in three days.

Spread

The title and nickname "first buddy" garnered viral spread over the following days on both social media and in mainstream media.

For example, on November 13th, 2024, The Daily Beast^[3] published an article titled "Trump Puts ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk in Charge of Fake Gov’t Department," referring to Musk being put in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The article was posted to the subreddit /r/politics^[4] that same day, garnering over 2,800 upvotes in a day.

That morning, X^[5] user @jackcalifano posted an excerpt from a New York Times^[6] article that references Musk as first buddy, writing, "I think he might actually be the biggest loser in human history," garnering over 76,000 likes and 5,000 reposts in a day.

Later on November 13th, 2024, X^[7] user @MikeBenzCyber posted a screenshot of an NBC News article that suggests Musk is acting as a "co-president," writing, "Excuse me his title is First Buddy, and you will put some respect on that name," garnering over 16,000 likes in a day.

That same day, X^[8] user @jakebrodes posted, "First buddy is insane man. Grim stuff. Even taking the most charitable view of the guy if you’re a Elon guy that’s. That’s tough," garnering over 1,500 likes in a day.

On November 14th, X^[9] user and content creator @jaubreyYT posted a FallenChungus meme depicting Musk jumping behind Trump in response to the post by @jackcalifano, garnering over 131,000 likes in under a day.