The Democratic Party is divided: Is he holding a winning card or an extremist who should be excluded?

In a rare political scene, a public dispute erupted between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, sparking wide debate within the Democratic Party about the possibility of leveraging this conflict to their advantage. Calls were made to "reclaim" Musk to the party after he was once one of its prominent supporters. Tensions escalated last week between Trump and Musk when Musk explicitly criticized "Trump's big and beautiful project," calling it "disgusting and full of foolishness." He claimed that his personal support was a major factor in Trump's election victory, accused his administration of hiding files related to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, before retracting and deleting these accusations later. While some Democrats welcomed the sight of the world's richest man clashing with the most powerful man in the world, opinions within the party were divided on how to deal with Musk. Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders categorically rejected the idea of reclaiming Musk, stating: "Musk was once a supporter of the Democratic Party, but gradually turned into a right-wing extremist," describing the current dispute as "a conflict between the few, the oligarchy, for power, which is embarrassing for democracy supporters." On the other hand, Democratic Representative Ro Khanna from California, a representative of Silicon Valley, called for an attempt to regain Musk's support, citing what the Republicans did with Robert Kennedy Jr. when Democrats rejected him. Khanna said: "If there was a strong Biden supporter criticizing him, Trump would embrace him immediately." Even the well-known liberal commentator Bill Maher shared the same opinion, suggesting that Democrats extend their hand to Musk amid this political tension. Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey appeared open to collaborating with Musk, albeit cautiously, affirming: "I welcome Musk, not in my campaign, but in his serious engagement in public issues." Trump did not delay in responding, issuing a direct warning to Musk of "consequences" if he decided to support Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections, further escalating tensions between the two men. While many Democrats seem enthusiastic about seeing Trump and Musk clash, the future strategy for dealing with this dispute remains unclear within the party, especially given skepticism from figures like strategic expert Brad Bannon, who found it difficult to build a stable relationship with Musk due to his "extreme positions bordering on fascism," as he put it. The question remains: Can the Democratic Party capitalize on this division in their favor, or will Musk remain a neutral player between the two camps?