It was less than a week ago that Donald Trump and Elon Musk were making nice for the cameras, with Musk – sporting a black eye – standing behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. Trump was reeling off his supposed achievements as Musk “left government” and returned to his businesses.
That retirement from politics has not lasted for long. On Wednesday, Musk posted to X, the social network he owns, time and again urging Republicans to sink the budget bill Trump desperately wants them to pass – and threatens to oust them should they fail to do so.
Musk claimed Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, which makes huge tax cuts for the rich while cutting healthcare for the poor and adding $2.4trn to the deficit, “more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the Doge team at great personal cost and risk”, before rechristening it the “Debt Slavery Bill”.
So far, Musk has refrained from criticising the President personally, though he has reposted several memes naming Trump, and Trump has not retaliated against Musk by name – but he pointedly reposted Musk’s effusive farewell message from Doge onto Truth Social on Wednesday evening.
Such is the level of mistrust in Trump and his chaotic regime that there is much speculation that the row between Musk and the President is confected – but in reality, relations had been cooling significantly for months.
In the first days of Trump’s presidency, he and Musk were almost literally inseparable. Any time Trump was on camera, Musk would be in shot. Musk rented a $2,000-a-night cottage on the grounds of Mar-a-Lago, occupied an office in the West Wing of the White House, and even attended cabinet meetings.
Musk’s obvious influence over the President was undeniable. When he took against an earlier bill to fund the government (which Trump had approved), Republican congressmen immediately paid attention – sinking the bill. This time, the response is far more muted – Musk is making as much noise as before, but the politicians are doing a much better job of ignoring him.
What changed? It’s hard to be sure, but there was obvious growing distance between the two men. Trump’s White House chief of staff Susie Wiles had succeeded in getting Musk out of his West Wing office, meaning he was no longer in close physical proximity to Trump – and notoriously with Trump, if you are out of his sight, you are out of his mind.
square KATE MALTBY The most dangerous thing about Donald Trump is his attention span
Read More
Musk’s unpopularity with the public did nothing to help his cause. A judicial election in Wisconsin became a key test for this, after Musk threw so much money at it that it became the most expensive judicial election in American history.
Musk did not just fund the contest, but effectively turned it into a referendum on himself. So when the Democratic-backed candidate won comfortably, Republicans took note: despite his ability to donate almost unlimited funds, Musk was an electoral liability.
On social media and in public remarks, Trump went from mentioning Musk by name multiple times a day in January to almost not at all by May. Musk and Doge seemed like the source of every headline about the government for its first two months, but in recent weeks its handful of staff have been largely swallowed up by existing departments. The damage it has done is very real, but as a lasting phenomenon, Doge seems done.
The one thing holding Trump and Musk together, in public at least, was their desire to prove their liberal critics, who said their colossal egos and poor impulse control meant a clash was inevitable, wrong. They may even attempt a reconciliation for the cameras at some stage to confound their expectations. Both of their teams are aware of how much their opponents want them to be in conflict.
But both men are used to being the stars of their own show, and it is not clear whether either has it in them to pretend otherwise. Musk has massively damaged his reputation and the fortunes of his businesses during his short time in government. He stood to get a lot back, in the form of ending regulatory investigations against his companies and installing friendly people in key agencies – but Trump has already withdrawn Musk’s favoured candidate to run Nasa. The deal is rapidly going south.
Should relations between Musk and Trump worsen, it sets the stage for a showdown between the world’s most powerful government and the richest man in its history – and no shortage of people will be watching it, with popcorn close to hand.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The Trump-Musk implosion is finally here – grab the popcorn )
Also on site :
- Beloved '90s Hitmaker, 61, Commands the Red Carpet in a Striking Look During Rare Red Carpet Appearance
- Shoppers must take action after ‘life-threatening’ issue found in 1.7m air con products sold at stores including Costco
- Academy-Award Winning Actress, 87, Absolutely Shimmers in Satin on N.Y.C. Red Carpet