SURPRISE GUEST

Elon Musk Plays Secretary of State as Trump Calls Zelensky

The chat—with a surprise appearance from the world’s richest man—was reportedly reassuring to the Ukrainian leader.

Elon Musk signed onto a Wednesday phone call between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky that the Ukrainian president described as “excellent.”

Musk’s surprising involvement in the conversation, first reported by Axios, hints at just how influential the world’s richest person, who emerged as a close and powerful ally for Trump in the run-up to his election victory, may be to the new administration.

Musk has been floated as a possible candidate for a Trump Cabinet position, and the president-elect has dubbed the fellow billionaire as—if nothing more official—his de facto “Secretary of Cost Cutting.”

Almost as surprising is the fact that, according to Axios’ sources, Zelensky was reassured by the approximately 25-minute call. One of the sources said that it “didn’t leave Zelensky with a feeling of despair.”

During the call, Musk shared his commitment to continue supporting Ukraine with his Starlink satellites, which since 2022 have allowed the nation’s troops to communicate even though its cellphone and internet networks have been destroyed during the war.

Trump had been critical of the scale of the U.S. military and financial support of Ukraine’s war efforts, and he has repeatedly vowed that, as president, he would end the conflict quickly.

At different points on the campaign trail, Trump claimed that he would end the nearly three-year-long war “in 24 hours” or before he is inaugurated in January.

“That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president,” Trump said, touting his closeness with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his debate against Kamala Harris in September. “If I win, when I’m president-elect and what I’ll do is I’ll speak to one, I’ll speak to the other, I’ll get them together.”

He has not publicly shared any further specifics of his plan to end the war.

Zelensky confirmed Thursday, after the call with Trump and Musk, that he still has not learned any details of the plan, either.

Although he said he believes Trump wants to end the war quickly, Zelensky was skeptical that it would be possible without major concessions for his country.

“If it’s just fast, it means losses for Ukraine. I just don’t yet understand how this could be in any other way. Maybe we do not know something, do not see,” he said.

Zelensky had previously shared news on X of his Wednesday call with Trump, although he didn’t mention Musk’s appearance.

“I had an excellent call with President @realDonaldTrump and congratulated him on his historic landslide victory—his tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work,” he wrote. “We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.”

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Liam ArchackiNews Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.