Conservative influencer and author Ashley St. Clair petitioned a Manhattan court to legally declare Elon Musk the father of her child and grant her sole custody Feb. 21. This child would be Musk’s fourteenth, and St. Clair the fourth mother of his offspring. This should ring the alarm bells for conservatives who cherish traditional family values.
While continuing to advocate for family-first culture and policy, conservatives must acknowledge the foremost leaders of the Trump administration hardly exemplify even basic monogamy.
“I am, and always have been, the only parent and caretaker that R.S.C. has known,” St. Clair said in the petition.
In November, Musk told St. Clair he wanted to “knock [her] up again,” according to court documents. He also told St. Clair earlier this month that the two “have a legion of kids to make.”
If this characterizes Musk’s role with one child, one can imagine his attitude toward the other thirteen. His appearances with his 4-year-old son X Æ A-12, or X, in the White House are endearing, but he still has another dozen children. It appears Musk’s parental focus is on quantity rather than quality. His reason for having kids is to populate the earth, not out of loving devotion to them or their mother.
But Musk is not the only one who has a sticky past when it comes to family life. President Donald Trump has a history of infidelity and is now on his third marriage.
Trump cheated on his first wife Ivana Trump with Marla Maples, who then became his second wife. Trump had three children in his first marriage and one in his second. Trump later divorced Maples and met Melania Knauss, with whom he had a child.
Trump’s family appears united today, especially in their appearances together at the White House. Yet his past brings into question Trump’s loyalty to the causes which align with conservative family values — abortion and in vitro fertilization among them.
It’s frustrating for conservatives to make peace with the perceived value differences between themselves and the leaders of this country.
What complicates this situation is when everyone who votes Republican is lumped into the same category. Anyone who voted for Trump is referred to in most news outlets as “MAGA Republicans.” Yet not every person who votes Republican stands behind Trump’s every action. Frankly, that notion is contrary to conservatism.
Russell Kirk addressed this point in his 1993 work “Ten Conservative Principles.”
“There exists no Model Conservative, and conservatism is the negation of ideology: it is a state of mind, a type of character, a way of looking at the civil social order,” Kirk wrote.
Real conservatives do not latch onto any singular political figure but adhere to time-tested values — what Kirk describes as “an enduring moral order made for man.” Family life is guided by this order, which is why Trump and others he associates with seem prominently at odds with conservatism.
A proper family order requires stability. Unstable families create an unstable society — a truth especially concerning when prominent figures like Trump and Musk may embody this instability.
However, to hyper-focus on one aspect of these men’s character and disregard the rest would be equally foolish and antithetical to conservatism.
“Conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability. Human nature suffers irremediably from certain grave faults, the conservatives know,” Kirk wrote. “Man being imperfect, no perfect social order ever can be created.”
Overscrutinization of actions or character faults is what the Left does incessantly. Say something politically incorrect decades ago when you were a young adult? Canceled, career ruined, stained for life. Conservatives must refrain from the same belligerence and instead treat everyone with equal scrutiny.
America needs someone like Trump to take a bat to the federal government and pave the way for leaders more like the magnificently humble Washington.
Conservatives hope Trump can rally Americans under the “common sense revolution” he touted in his March 4 speech to Congress. People who cherish traditional values must recognize we are in a war for the soul of America. Regaining common sense is the first step toward healing that soul.
Common sense was a phrase in the mouths of our Founders, and it’s in the mouth of Trump’s administration. Before we can hope for Kirk’s enduring moral order, we at least need a little more common sense.
When you spend your time entrenched in the study of virtue and principles, it’s easy to scrutinize every aspect of every person. But the world is not that simple — even broken people can do great service. A leader like Trump can still be the bulldog America needs even if he’s not the moral exemplar for whom traditional conservatives yearn.
But not all hope is lost. Trump’s “common sense” mission may miss the mark on marriage and family as it pertains to his own life, but others in the administration succeed in living out traditional values. Common sense is now the language of the right, and common sense will be the foundation upon which America can rebuild itself and return to its traditional roots.
Lauren Bixler is a sophomore studying politics.
