Now It's History

Now It's History

Elon Musk is becoming Donald Trump's biggest headache

The centi-billionaire may have set the stage for a month of government chaos before Trump's second term begins

Richard Galant's avatar
Richard Galant
Dec 19, 2024
∙ Paid
36
2
8
Share

“Nothing more terrible can happen to a vessel in open sea and under full sail,” wrote Victor Hugo.

“A gun that breaks its moorings becomes suddenly some indescribable supernatural beast,” the writer observed in “Ninety-Three,” his final novel, which is based on the events of 1793 in the French Revolution.

A cannon on the deck of the warship Claymore breaks loose. It “turns upon its wheels, has the rapid movements of a billiard-ball; rolls with the rolling, pitches with the pitching; goes, comes, pauses, seems to meditate; resumes its course, rushes along the ship from end to end like an arrow, circles about, springs aside, evades, rears, breaks, kills, exterminates.”

“The mad mass has the bounds of a panther, the weight of the elephant, the agility of the mouse, the rapidity of lightning, the deafness of the tomb. It weighs ten thousand pounds, and it rebounds like a child’s ball…You can make a mastiff hear reason, astound a bull, fascinate a boa, frighten a tiger, soften a lion; but th…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Now It's History to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Richard Galant
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture