One of them is being able to call Donald Trump a liar and face no consequences – as Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary did last week. Elon Musk – Trump’s erstwhile government efficiency tsar – certainly heard O’Leary last week when he dissed the prospect of installing Musk’s Starlink satellite system on the airline’s planes. “I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk ... He’s an idiot, very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot,” shot back O’Leary. Insulting two of the world’s most powerful men is not a bad week’s work for O’Leary, even by his own standards. In reality, the EU has far more leverage over Trump than it appears to realise or be prepared to use.

Source: The Irish Times January 21, 2026 11:21 UTC