When Narcissists Break Up: The Collateral Damage of Power-Hungry Alliances

Brian Sankarsingh wonders about narcissists and break-ups

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I don’t normally publish on a Tuesday, but this has been on my mind for a hot minute and since it might also be on yours, I decided to run with it.

When titans of ego collide, the fallout is rarely confined to just the principal players. The reported unraveling of the once-curious alliance between Elon Musk and Donald Trump isn’t just tabloid fodder, it’s a masterclass in the emotional and societal collateral damage that can occur when two stubborn narcissists part ways. We went from Trump bringing a Tesla automobile to the White House in a questionable attempt to stop the massive financial bleeding that was happening to Musk’s company to Trump’s, in an NBC interview covered by AP, stating:

“I’m too busy doing other things,” Trump continued. “You know, I won an election in a landslide. I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened, I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him.”

Trump went on to talk about what might happen if Elon Musk tries to “help Democrats in the upcoming election”

“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC, though he declined to share what those consequences would be. Musk’s businesses have many lucrative federal contracts.

Now, while that statement in itself can make one wonder if it was uttered by an elected President or a self-appointed dictator…that’s another story.

But let’s be real, at first glance, their relationship made sense. Both men are figures who command enormous attention, who disrupt and polarize. Beneath their mutual admiration was a shared, insatiable hunger for power, influence, and dominance over cultural narratives. It wasn’t about friendship. It was about utility. It was about how each could leverage the other to expand their reach, validate their ambitions, and fortify their status as kings in their respective castles.

But power, when pursued as an end in itself, is a fickle glue. The very traits that likely attracted them to each other such as aggressive individualism, bombast and disdain for opposition are the same traits that have now driven them apart. In the world of the narcissist, there can only be one true center of gravity. When two self-obsessed stars orbit too closely, a violent collision is inevitable.

The emotional collateral damage of this kind of breakup isn’t just limited to bruised egos behind closed doors. It ripples outward. Sycophants, employees, political allies, investors, and social media followers who once found comfort, identity, or strategy in their alignment now find themselves disoriented, perhaps even betrayed. Movements that thrived on the synergy between these figures may fracture. Individuals who hitched their hopes to the coattails of their partnership may now suffer the psychological whiplash of having to choose sides, reframe loyalties, recalibrate beliefs and renegotiate narratives.

This public unraveling also prompts us to question the moral fabric of people who build alliances not on shared values, but on shared utility. When relationships are transactional, they are inherently disposable. The question is not whether betrayal will happen - it’s a matter of when.

Musk and Trump’s estrangement is a cautionary tale about the hollowness of power without principle. Narcissists can be captivating; they can move markets, ignite social movements, and dominate headlines. But their gravitational pull often leaves emotional wreckage in their wake, communities divided, employees discarded, followers emotionally whipsawed. Ultimately, the spectacle of their breakup isn’t just a story about two men. It’s a mirror held up to a culture increasingly tolerant of charisma without character, alliances without integrity, and ambition without accountability. And in that reflection, we might find that the true cost of narcissistic power plays isn’t paid by the players themselves but by the rest of us left to navigate the debris.

When Titans Break

When titans break, the sky does not shatter
it bends, it trembles, but holds
The cracks run silent through the hearts of those
who circled their flame for warmth
Two mirrors locked in endless gaze
each searching for their own reflection
and relevance
in the other’s polished glass
Not friends, nor foes, but tools
a ladder, a lever, a lens
Power is a fickle thread
woven tight when gain is near
but fraying at the edges
when one dares to outshine the other
Ravenous hunger bound them
broke them
For in the empire of self
there is room for only one king
And so, the fallout rains 
on the faithful, the followers
the bystanders who danced
to the rhythm of their roaring
Disillusionment tastes like ash
and loyalty like rusted chains
We watch them part
each cloaked in pride
unmoved by the hearts
they’ve scattered like coins 
on a bumpy road
This is how giants fall
not with sorrow
not with grace
but with a repulsed shrug
a vile smirk
a hateful silence that tells you
they never truly cared
for anyone
but the face in their own silvered glass

Bio: Brian Sankarsingh is a poetic firebrand, a sharp, thoughtful storyteller who walks the crossroads where Caribbean folklore, social justice, and the human condition collide. He is a truth-seeker who questions political tribes, challenges lazy platitudes, and writes with a deep pulse of empathy, always pushing for nuance whether you're exploring grief, cultural identity, or the monsters that haunt cane fields and hearts alike. He blends advocacy and art seamlessly. He is part historian, part philosopher, part bard, driven by a hunger to illuminate overlooked stories and empower marginalized voices.

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