In German folklore comes the story of Faust (or Doctor Faustus) who agrees to relinquish his soul to an evil spirit such as Mephistopheles: a representation of the Devil. For this surrender, Faust is promised knowledge and magical powers unattainable by other mortals that give him enormous wealth and pleasures that he could ever desire.

When taking this bargain, though, Faust understood that making a deal with the Devil was inherently evil and amoral, but his greed and desire overrode reason, which finalized the exchange.

What has come to be known as the “Faustian bargain” has become a cautionary tale with tragic and self-defeating results for the bargainer because what is forfeited is far more valuable than what is acquired, whether they realize it or not.

Rick Wilson, a veteran Republican Party political strategist and co-founder of The Lincoln Project—a political action committee holding elected officials accountable to follow their oaths to the Constitution—must have had the story of Faust in mind in the writing of his two popular books on US politics: Everything Trump Touches Dies, and Running against the Devil—A Plot to Save America from Trump and Democrats from Themselves.

In the Faustian story, Trump represents the Devil. Anyone and everyone even thinking about making a deal with him becomes the Faust in the tale who eventually gives up so much more they could ever receive. Such is Trump’s “art of the deal.”

Apparently, Elon Musk learned this lesson the hard way as so many others in Trump’s orbit have as well.

Elon Musk, technological wizard, owner of the social media platform X, and major stakeholder in Tesla and SpaceX, pumped an estimated $288 million into Trump’s war chest during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Whether Elon Musk ever had a soul is up for debate. But for his enormous contribution to Trump’s campaign, he received almost unlimited access to the candidate and then to the president. Trump assigned Musk to head a special government position, the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). And Trump gave Musk assurances of the continuance of lucrative government contracts, loans, and tax credits.

All seemed to be going well for the richest man in the world until Satin turned on him,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)