Donald Trump and Elon Musk‘s political relationship came to an abrupt public confrontation. During a conversation in the Oval Office, Trump expressed his “very disappointed” at Musk after the billionaire criticized his “big, beautiful” spending package before Congress.
Payback, Trump warned, he might cancel Musk’s substantial government contracts. Musk countered X by claiming Trump would not have won the 2024 election without him. Without any evidence, he even asserted that American papers on Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, featured Trump.
The battle worsened as both began attacking one other on social media. Tesla’s stock dropped and Musk stated he would end a major American spaceship initiative. Though many had expected their partnership to end, the abrupt breakup shocked some in Washington.
“I am very upset in Elon. I have supported Elon a lot,” President Trump said next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “Elon and I got along very well. I’m not sure if we will any longer.”
Trump sounded offended and reminded everyone that just last week he had hosted Musk for a farewell at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Trump later referred to Musk as “crazy” and stated he ordered him to leave since he was “wearing thin.”
Live on X, Musk said Trump was ungrateful. He wrote, “Trump is in the Epstein records,” referencing US documents on Epstein. He concluded that post with “Have a nice day, DJT!”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told AFP that Musk’s post about Epstein was “an unhappy episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ because it does not include the policies he wanted.”
Musk had contributed $300 million as a leading campaign sponsor for Trump. He also agreed with a post suggesting Trump ought to be impeached and stated Trump’s worldwide tariffs might cause a recession.
Trump next stated he might remove Musk’s large government contracts including Starlink satellite use and rocket launches. On Truth Social, he wrote, “The simplest way to save money in our Budget, Billions of Dollars, is to end Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.”
Musk responded by noting he would begin “decommissioning” the Dragon spacecraft NASA uses to send astronauts. Later, he seemed to change his mind and replied to a user, “OK, we won’t decommission Dragon,” but it was uncertain what he truly meant.
During the argument, Tesla lost over $100 billion in value. Before, Trump and Musk were friends, with Musk even residing at the White House and riding Air Force One.
Musk only held his DOGE position for four months. He grew annoyed at gradual changes and found problems with Trump’s staff. They kept their arguments under wraps until Musk referred to Trump’s tax and spending measure as an “abomination” for expanding the deficit.
Musk then issued a poll asking whether he ought to form a fresh political party. This might be a major move since he has the financial means to oppose Republicans who go against him. According to The New York Times, a Trump supporter named Steve Bannon allegedly advocated Musk’s deportation.
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