'dark Maga' Spreads As Conservatives Embrace Musk's Influence On Trump

At an annual gathering of conservative activists, the signature red " Make America Great Again " hats popularized by President Donald Trump were interspersed with a noticeable number of the black "Dark MAGA" hats made popular by Elon Musk .

It was just one sign of Musk's emerging influence and how the world's wealthiest man - who once backed Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden - has become a conservative power center in his own right due to his connections to Trump.

"He is an authentic and unique individual. I am glad he is on the team," said Whitney Mason, a 62-year-old real estate agent who was traveling from Seattle.

Musk was an unexpected guest of honor at the Conservative Political Action Conference, with his appearance announced hours before he took the stage wielding a chainsaw . The prop, and his comments, left little subtlety about his role or his influence, days after the Trump administration claimed in court that Musk was not in charge of his signature Department of Government Efficiency .

Speakers at CPAC frequently brought up DOGE , playfully named after a meme coin with the face of a Shiba Inu dog popularized by Musk in 2021. They variously referred to him as a "white knight," a "hero of free speech," and according to one of his harshest critics, Steve Bannon , "Superman."