President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to cut off government contracts with billionaire Elon Musk\u2019s companies, while Musk suggested Trump should be impeached, turning their bromance into an all-out brawl on social media.<\/p>\n
The hostilities began when Trump criticized Tesla CEO Musk in the Oval Office. Within hours, the once-close relationship had disintegrated in full public view, as the world\u2019s most powerful man and its richest launched personal barbs at one another on Trump\u2019s Truth Social and Musk\u2019s X.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon\u2019s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,\u201d Trump posted on Truth Social.<\/p>\n
Wall Street traders dumped shares of Musk\u2019s electric vehicle maker and Tesla closed down 14.3%, losing about $150 billion in market value. It was Tesla\u2019s largest single-day decline in value in its history.<\/p>\n
Minutes after the closing bell, Musk replied, \u201cYes,\u201d to a post on X saying Trump should be impeached. Trump\u2019s Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress and are highly unlikely to impeach him.<\/p>\n
The trouble between the two started brewing days ago, when Musk denounced Trump\u2019s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill. The president initially held his tongue while Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, saying it would add too much to the nation\u2019s $36.2 trillion in debt.<\/p>\n
Trump broke his silence on Thursday, telling reporters in the Oval Office he was \u201cvery disappointed\u201d in Musk.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don\u2019t know if we will anymore,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
While Trump spoke, Musk responded with increasingly acerbic posts on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout me, Trump would have lost the election,\u201d wrote Musk, who spent nearly $300 million backing Trump and other Republicans in last year\u2019s election. \u201cSuch ingratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another post, Musk asserted that Trump\u2019s signature tariffs would push the U.S. into a recession later this year.<\/p>\n
Besides Tesla, Musk\u2019s businesses include rocket company and government contractor SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink.<\/p>\n
Musk, whose space business plays a critical role in the U.S. government\u2019s space program, said that as a result of Trump\u2019s threats he would begin decommissioning SpaceX\u2019s Dragon spacecraft. Dragon is the only U.S. spacecraft currently capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station.<\/p>\n
Hours later, Musk appeared to reverse that move. Responding to a follower on X urging Musk and Trump to \u201ccool off and take a step back for a couple of days,\u201d Musk wrote: \u201cGood advice. Ok, we won\u2019t decommission Dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another possible sign of de-escalation on Thursday evening, Musk separately posted, \u201cYou\u2019re not wrong,\u201d in response to hedge fund manager Bill Ackman saying Trump and Musk should make peace.<\/p>\n
PUGILISTIC PAIR<\/p>\n
The feud was not entirely unexpected. Trump and Musk are both political pugilists with sizable egos and a penchant for using social media to punch back against their perceived enemies, and many observers had predicted an eventual falling out.<\/p>\n
Even before Musk\u2019s departure from the administration last week, his influence had waned following a series of clashes with cabinet members over his cuts to their agencies.<\/p>\n
For Trump, the fight was the first major rift he has had with a top adviser since taking office for a second time, after his first term was marked by numerous blow-ups.<\/p>\n
Trump parted ways with multiple chiefs of staff, national security advisers and political strategists during his 2017-2021 White House tenure. A few, like Steve Bannon, remained in his good graces, while many others, like U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, became loud and vocal critics.<\/p>\n
After serving as the biggest Republican donor in the 2024 campaign season, Musk became one of Trump\u2019s most visible advisers as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which mounted a sweeping and controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.<\/p>\n
Musk was frequently present at the White House and made multiple appearances on Capitol Hill, sometimes carrying his young son.<\/p>\n
Only six days before Thursday\u2019s blowup, Trump and Musk held an appearance in the Oval Office where Trump praised Musk\u2019s government service and both men promised to continue working together.<\/p>\n
A prolonged feud between Trump and Musk could make it more difficult for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year\u2019s midterm elections. In addition to his campaign spending, Musk has a huge online following and helped connect Trump to parts of Silicon Valley and wealthy donors.<\/p>\n
Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending in the future.<\/p>\n
Soon after Trump\u2019s Oval Office comments on Thursday, Musk polled his 220 million followers on X: \u201cIs it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018KILL THE BILL\u2019<\/p>\n
Musk targeted what Trump has named his \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d this week, calling it a \u201cdisgusting abomination\u201d that would deepen the federal deficit. His attacks amplified a rift within the Republican Party that could threaten the bill\u2019s prospects in the Senate.<\/p>\n
Nonpartisan analysts say Trump\u2019s bill could add $2.4 trillion to $5 trillion to the nation\u2019s $36.2 trillion in debt.<\/p>\n
Trump asserted that Musk\u2019s true objection was the bill\u2019s elimination of consumer tax credits for electric vehicles. The president also suggested that Musk was upset because he missed working for the White House.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not the first,\u201d Trump said on Thursday. \u201cPeople leave my administration… then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Musk wrote on X, \u201cKILL the BILL,\u201d adding he was fine with Trump\u2019s planned cuts to EV credits as long as Republicans rid the bill of \u201cmountain of disgusting pork\u201d or wasteful spending.<\/p>\n
He also pulled up past quotes from Trump decrying the level of federal spending, adding, \u201cWhere is this guy today?\u201d<\/p>\n
Musk came into government with brash plans to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. He left last week having cut only about half of 1% of total spending while causing disruption across multiple agencies.<\/p>\n
Musk\u2019s increasing focus on politics provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites in the U.S. and Europe, driving down sales while investors fretted that Musk\u2019s attention was too divided.<\/p>\n
Source: Reuters<\/p>\n
–Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to cut off government contracts with billionaire Elon Musk\u2019s companies, while Musk suggested Trump should be impeached, turning their bromance into an all-out brawl on social media. The hostilities began when Trump criticized Tesla CEO Musk in the Oval Office. Within hours, the once-close relationship had disintegrated in full […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n