Trump Warns Musk Of serious Consequences If He Funds Democratic Candidates
US President Donald Trump has warned Tesla CEO Elon Musk of "serious consequences" if he gives funding to Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who vote in support of the GOP's sweeping budget bill.
Speaking to NBC News in a phone interview on Saturday, Trump said, "If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that." However, he refused to mention the consequences.
He further said, "He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that." Trump said he does not wish to repair his ties with Musk after the two had a public fallout. Musk and Trump have criticised each other on social media platforms X and Truth Social earlier this week.
When asked whether he wished to do so, Trump responded, "No."
When asked whether his ties with Elon Musk were over, Trump responded, "I would assume so, yeah."
Donald Trump said he has no plans to speak with Musk anytime soon. He stated, "I'm too busy doing other things," adding, "I have no intention of speaking to him," NBC News reported.
He accused Musk of being "disrespectful to the office of the President." He further stated, "I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President."
Musk targeted Trump in a series of posts shared on X on Thursday, including a now-deleted post, where he highlighted the onetime connection between the US President and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Saturday, Trump said, "That's called 'old news,' that's been old news, that has been talked about for years." He further said, "Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It's old news."
Elon Musk served for 130 days as a "special government employee" at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Following his exit, he has criticised Donald Trump's spending legislation.
In response to Musk's criticism, Trump, while speaking to reporters on Thursday, said, "I'm very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill. I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot."
Following his statement, Musk launched several attacks on Trump on X, including a now-deleted post promoting a call for Trump to be impeached and another where he said the US President's tariff agenda would lead to a recession later this year.
In response to Musk's statement, Trump shared several posts on Truth Social. In one post, he wrote, "I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago," suggesting that Musk knew what was in the bill before it was passed.
He also threatened to terminate Elon Musk's company's contracts with the government. In a post shared on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump stated, "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it."
On Saturday, Trump said he had not given his suggestion about cancelling federal contracts with Musk's company any more thought. He said, "I'd be allowed to do that," he said, "but I have, I haven't given it any thought."
Musk gave major financial support to Trump during the elections last year, spending more than a quarter of a billion dollars to boost him in swing states, NBC News reported. In the first months of the Trump administration, Musk served as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, where he oversaw mass layoffs of federal workers and the closure or partial closure of several agencies.
Trump said the feud has made lawmakers see the benefits of the bill. He said, "I think, actually, Elon brought out the strengths of the bill because people who weren't as focused started focusing on it, and they see how good it is." He further stated, "So in that sense, there was a big favour. But I think Elon, really, I think it's a shame that he's so depressed and so heartbroken."
Musk's criticism comes at a pivotal moment for Trump's self-described "big, beautiful bill", which encompasses sweeping tax reductions and expanded military expenditure. The House of Representatives approved the measure by the narrowest of margins last month, with only three Republican members dissenting against solid Democratic resistance.
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