“Trump Doesn’t Want to Look Like a Puppet”: Treasury Pick Sparks Mar-a-Lago Tensions

Donald Trump is reportedly growing frustrated with Howard Lutnick, one of the leading contenders for Treasury secretary, due to allegations that Lutnick is playing Trump’s allies against one another in a bid to secure the position. According to journalist Marc Caputo, who appeared on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront on Monday, the infighting has reached a boiling point, with Lutnick’s actions causing significant friction within Trump’s inner circle.

“Howard Lutnick is on Trump’s shortlist to lead the Treasury Department, but The Bulwark’s Marc Caputo reports tonight that he’s ‘shooting himself in the foot’ as insiders see him as ‘too competitive, too aggressive, and too thirsty for the spotlight,'” Burnett told viewers while introducing Caputo.

Caputo described the drama as resembling a sequel to Knives Out, unfolding within Mar-a-Lago. He explained that Lutnick’s brash tactics have alienated key players, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Lutnick previously dismissed as unsuitable for Health and Human Services secretary—only for Trump to appoint him anyway.

“Now his style of sort of knifing other people and trying to keep them from the Treasury post has started to really rub a lot of people the wrong way,” said Caputo. “And he’s enlisted the help of others, including now RFK as well as Elon Musk.”

Adding fuel to the fire, Musk—who has become an influential figure in Trump’s orbit—publicly endorsed Lutnick for the Treasury role. On Saturday, Musk tweeted his support for Lutnick while dismissing Lutnick’s rival, Scott Bessent, as a less desirable choice. This move, however, seems to have backfired, with sources close to Trump suggesting that the former president resents the perception that Musk is attempting to control him.

“There are folks who have been around Trump for a while who said, you know, he probably isn’t going to like this sort of pressure on him,” Caputo said. “Both inside Mar-a-Lago and a social media campaign being mounted outside, because he doesn’t want to look like he’s in the service of Elon Musk. Donald Trump doesn’t really want to look like his puppet.”

The behind-the-scenes drama highlights the challenges Trump faces as he builds his Cabinet amid competing interests and personalities. Whether Lutnick’s aggressive lobbying will cost him the Treasury nomination remains to be seen, but his tactics have already left a lasting impression—and not necessarily a positive one—on Trump’s inner circle.