In 2021, Claire Boucher, or Grimes, made the entire internet cringe when she posed with the Communist Manifesto for a photoshoot. Satire or not, the experimental, alien-obsessed, gender-defying artist has made it clear where she lies politically.
Kind of.
She’s a self-proclaimed socialist, but “not economically,” whatever that means.
And her baby daddy, Elon Musk, is just as politically confusing. Both are equally embarrassing, but as a former girlfriend of Musk, Grimes bothers me more because of her complacency to in regard to his politics. You’d think in dating her he would be teetering toward the left, until one day he appeared as the opener to President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The world is now alarmed by his sexist tweets, generous donations to Trump, and his gesture that bore a concerning amount of resemblance to a Nazi salute.
Since these developments, Tesla-owner and first-year student at the University of Iowa Jada Greer has found herself embarrassed by her vehicle, as Musk is the co-founder and leader of the Tesla company.
“I would’ve never expected this. I don’t align with anything he’s putting forth in the media. If I had known of his beliefs, I definitely would’ve urged my family to sell the car or something. And I’m sure a lot of other people feel the same way,” Greer said.
There are also people who previously praised Musk’s work ethic who were shocked at his seeming shift in political beliefs. The man has been a staple for American business and manufacturing for years.
Personally, I think the signs were always present. Outside of being a mass consumerist and absolutely green-eyed for money, Musk’s relationship crashing and burning with the very liberal Grimes after having three children and writing dozens of X, formerly known as Twitter, pick-up lines should’ve let us all know he was abandoning any leftist paraphernalia.
The couple had a lot in common: a love for futurism and AI, strong presences on X, colonizing space and Mars, and wanting a threesome with Azaelia Banks. You’d think their children would be even more unifying than that, including internet sensation X Æ A-12, who was videotaped picking his nose in Trump’s office.
But that actually seems more like a point of contention for the co-parents. Less than two months ago, Grimes tweeted at Musk, asking him to “Plz respond about our child’s medical crisis.”
That got me thinking about why it all went wrong. I don’t think anyone can understand these two oddities besides themselves. Still, the one thing they have never been able to see eye-to-eye on is politics.
Modern-day relationships can make it past anything: angry parents, cheating, reality TV, financial stress, and helicopter partners. But can they survive disparate political views?
Greer recalls being with a partner who didn’t share similar ideologies with her.
“It wasn’t even that we disagreed. He just cared less than me, and at points, it was embarrassing. I had to defend his indifference to my friends a lot. I was really passionate about certain causes, and his lack of support was definitely weighing down our relationship,” she said.
So, no, I don’t think there’s any room for political grievance in this day and age. It’s one thing to avoid watching the news together because it’ll spark a dinner debate and sleeping in separate bedrooms. But if your partner is canceling out your vote, are you really accounted for as a U.S. citizen?
Politics dominate our domestic lives. In late 2024, a study by Oddspedia confirmed this. One in six Americans are splitting up over their political disagreements. According to the study, men view political awareness more negatively while women approach it as a compassionate trait.
That’s probably why Musk broke up with Grimes. He doesn’t seem like one for compassion and empathy, as seen in his hateful comments toward queer people.
It’s no coincidence Musk and Grimes take the limelight when a controversial political figure is in office. The people’s outrage with Musk is almost always synchronous with some big news from Tesla, and this term especially, the radio silence from the broken-up couple has been interrupted.
Maybe Grimes takes to expressing liberal rage on X when Musk is a hot topic because he is a representation of her dating history; a lot of people think her liberalism is just a persona.
“I don’t really listen to her stuff, but ‘Oblivion’ was pretty big on TikTok and put her on a lot of people’s playlists. So, I’d say the internet does have a perception of her, and it’s questionable that she claims to be so involved in the LGBTQ+ community when the man she was in love with less than two years ago has been publicly transphobic and homophobic,” Greer said.
Clearly, love doesn’t outweigh politics. Grimes constantly had to defend Musk to her listeners, and that’s probably why she’s embraced being sappy now. There’s no coming back from saying “I know this isn’t your heart” after your boyfriend tweets “Pronouns suck.”
Honestly, I think something good can come out of the U.S.’s polarization. In fact, there should be a preference now on Tinder and Hinge for political affiliation. We don’t need any more embarrassing boyfriends and girlfriends who need to fight tooth and nail to defend each other’s problematic beliefs nor is it healthy to constantly have simmering tensions in a relationship based on political differences.