Donald Trump has declared his relationship with billionaire Elon Musk “over” and warned of “serious consequences” if Musk funds Democrats opposing the president’s sweeping tax and spending bill, deepening a public feud
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]rump Musk Feud has intensified, with Donald Trump declaring his relationship with billionaire donor Elon Musk definitively “over.”
Also read: Trump threatens to slash billions in funding for Musk’s companies amid fiery breakup
The US President also issued a stern warning of “serious consequences” should Musk opt to fund Democrats who vote against the president’s sweeping tax and spending bill.
In a telephone interview with NBC News on Saturday, Trump declined to specify what these consequences might entail.
He further added that he had not engaged in discussions about initiating any investigations into Musk’s affairs.
When directly asked if he believed his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump responded, “I would assume so, yeah.”
He then told NBC he had “no intention of speaking to him” and no desire to repair their relationship.
However, Trump clarified that he had not considered terminating US government contracts with Musk’s StarLink satellite internet or SpaceX rocket launch companies.
The public exchange of insults between Musk and Trump began earlier this week, with Musk notably denouncing Trump’s bill as a “disgusting abomination.”
Musk’s vocal opposition to the measure has complicated efforts to pass the legislation in Congress, where Republicans hold only slim majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The controversial bill narrowly passed the House last month and is currently awaiting consideration in the Senate, where Trump’s fellow Republicans are contemplating potential amendments.
Nonpartisan analysts project that the measure would add a significant $2.4 trillion to the $36.2 trillion US national debt over the next decade, a prospect that has raised concerns among many lawmakers, including some fiscally conservative Republicans.
Musk has also publicly expressed his view that it is time for a new political party in the United States “to represent the 80% in the middle!”
Despite the friction, Trump stated on Saturday his confidence that the bill would be passed by the US July 4 Independence Day holiday.
“In fact, yeah, people that were, were going to vote for it are now enthusiastically going to vote for it, and we expect it to pass,” Trump told NBC.
Republicans have largely shown strong backing for Trump’s initiatives since he commenced his second term as president on January 20.
While some Republican lawmakers have publicly voiced concerns about certain presidential choices, they have yet to vote down any of his policies or nominations.
Interestingly, Musk has reportedly deleted some social media posts critical of Trump, including one that appeared to signal support for impeaching the president.
This action suggests a possible attempt to de-escalate their public feud, which dramatically escalated on Thursday.
During Trump’s first term, the House, then controlled by Democrats, twice voted to impeach him, but the Senate acquitted him on both occasions.
The White House and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday regarding the deleted posts.
Individuals who have reportedly spoken with Musk suggest that his anger has begun to subside, and they believe he may ultimately wish to repair his relationship with Trump.
One of the X posts that Musk appeared to have deleted was a direct response to a user who posted: “President vs Elon. Who wins? My money’s on Elon.
Trump should be impeached and (Vice President) JD Vance should replace him.” Musk had responded with a simple “yes.”
On Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast – recorded on Thursday as the feud unfolded and released on Saturday – Vice President JD Vance called Musk’s criticism of Trump a “huge mistake.”
Vance stated, “I’m always going to be loyal to the president, and I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold.
Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear. But I hope it is,” while still describing Musk as an “incredible entrepreneur.”
Trump is scheduled to attend an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight card on Saturday in New Jersey. Since his second election win, he has attended two previous UFC mixed martial arts fight cards alongside Musk. Musk is not expected to attend the event on Saturday.
Musk, recognized as the world’s richest man, played a significant role in funding a substantial portion of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, contributing nearly $300 million in last year’s US elections.
He has taken credit for Republicans retaining a majority of seats in the House and regaining a majority in the Senate.
Trump had recently named Musk to lead an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending, even lauding him at the White House only about a week ago for his work as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Also read: President Trump imposes comprehensive travel ban on 12 nations
However, Musk’s efforts reportedly resulted in cuts of only about half of 1% of total spending, falling significantly short of his ambitious plans to axe $2 trillion from the federal budget.
Oreoluwa is an accountant and a brand writer with a flair for journalism.
