The bizarre political bromance between the most powerful man on Earth and the wealthiest tycoon in the world appeared to be over Thursday as President Trump and Elon Musk traded barbs in the wake of the Tesla mogul’s harsh criticism of his signature Big Beautiful Bill.
The president signaled his alliance with Musk was done after he had derided Trump’s crucial must-pass bill as an “abomination.”
“Elon and I had a great relationship [but] I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump said Thursday during an afternoon White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “He hasn’t said anything bad about me but I’m sure that’ll be next.”
“He’s not the first,” Trump added. “When people leave, at some point … some of them actually become hostile. It’s sort of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Trump, who said he was “very disappointed” in the Tesla and SpaceX owner, accused Musk of being motivated by sour grapes over the removal of lucrative electric vehicle subsidies from the sprawling package of deep tax and spending cuts.
“He wore the hat [saying] ‘Trump was right about everything,’” Trump said. “And I am right about the one great Big Beautiful Bill.”
Musk wasted no time hitting back at Trump, slamming his onetime political idol in what amounted to a live-tweet running commentary on his Twitter platform.
He demanded the “big and ugly” bill be slimmed down and denied Trump’s claim that he was intimately involved in crafting the bill.
“False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it,” Musk said.
He retweeted Trump’s previous post opposing an increase in the debt ceiling. Trump has flip-flopped on that position and now calls for it to be eliminated altogether.
In a remarkable swipe at his onetime ally, Musk reminded Trump that he bankrolled his reelection campaign to the tune of more than $200 million and accused Trump of forgetting who helped revive his political career.
“Such ingratitude,” Musk tweeted. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election.”
Trump responded by suggesting that the “easiest way” the government could save “billions and billions” is by slashing subsidies to Musk’s companies, a sign the relationship could erupt into open warfare.
Then Musk hit back by claiming Trump is blocking release of the files about the case of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein because he is named in them. “The truth will come out,” Musk tweeted.
He predicted Trump’s tariff-fueled trade war will cause recession later this year and reposted with the comment “Yes” in a tweet calling for Trump to be impeached.
Trump’s onetime political adviser Steve Bannon later joined the fray by calling for an investigation into Musk’s reported drug use and the immigration status of Musk, a naturalized American citizen who was born and raised in South Africa.
The sharp back-and-forth between two of the world’s most powerful right-wing figures marked a stunning unraveling of their once unshakable political alliance. It sent Tesla stock closing down by 14% as investors worried that the electric car company might face retaliation from the White House.
After Musk played a key role in Trump’s campaign, Trump brought the Tesla and SpaceX mogul to Washington to engineer sharp spending cuts as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk was a ubiquitous and powerful figure in the first weeks of the new administration, using his relationship with Trump to steamroll cabinet secretaries and other top Republicans.
But Musk quickly became disillusioned with the inner workings of governance and last month announced he would leave his position as a special government employee to return to running his sprawling business empire. A recent expose said Musk regularly used both prescription and illegal drugs, accusations he has brushed off.
Just last Friday, Trump and Musk showered each other with praise at an Oval Office sendoff billed as a farewell to a valued friend who needed to return to his private business roles.
Musk effectively went off the Trump train for good this week when he denounced Trump’s budget bill just as the president is seeking to wrangle Republican votes to push it through Congress.
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