Karoline Leavitt makes it clear where she stands amid Trump-Musk feud with very telling post
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear that she's team Trump amid the president's nasty public break-up with Elon Musk.
One week before, she and longtime Trump aide Margo Martin had posed in the Tesla that's parked outside the White House, which the president said he was purchasing as Musk's electric car company was taking a hit over his MAGA ties and work at DOGE.
But on Thursday Leavitt shared one of Trump's Truth Social messages the president dished out about Musk - after first taking on the Tesla and SpaceX CEO in an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Trump had written, 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago.'
'This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It's a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn't pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that,' Trump wrote.
'I didn't create this mess, I'm just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' the president added.
Musk's spat with Trump got so brutal on Thursday that he claimed that the president 'is in the Epstein files' - attempting to connect the commander-in-chief with the serial pedophile who died in prison in 2019.
Leavitt pushed back on that too, telling the Daily Mail in a statement: 'This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.'
On Thursday, however, press secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear that she was on President Donald Trump's side in Trump's very public spat with former DOGE leader Elon Musk
'The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again,' Leavitt added.
Trump didn't directly respond to Musk's Epstein charge, instead posting the Truth Social message that Leavitt shared.
Later Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters on Musk's Epstein charge as he hosted the National Fraternal Order of Police executive board in the State Dining Room.
A source familiar pointed out to the Daily Mail that 'everyone knows President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Palm Beach Golf Club.'
'The Administration itself released Epstein files with the President's name included. This is not a new surprise Elon is uncovering. Everyone already knew this,' the source continued.
The source also mused, 'If Elon truly thought the President was more deeply involved with Epstein, why did he hangout with him for 6 months and say he "loves him as much as a straight man can love a straight man?"'
The Musk-Trump break-up had started over the bill, which is now going through the U.S. Senate, which Musk complained added to the deficit and reversed the work he had done leading DOGE, the Trump-created Department of Government Efficiency.
But it quickly turned personal once Trump floated that he wasn't sure the relationship between the two billionaires could be saved.
'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more, I was surprised,' Trump told reporters as he was seated alongside Germany's leader.
The president suggested that Musk was angry - not over the bill ballooning the deficit - but because the Trump administration has pulled back on electric vehicle mandates, which negatively impacted Tesla, and replaced the Musk-approved nominee to lead NASA, which could hinder SpaceX 's government contracts.
Musk then posted that Trump would have lost the 2024 election had it not been for the world's richest man - him.
'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk claimed.
'Such ingratitude,' the billionaire added.
After the Oval Office meeting Trump took to Truth Social Thursday afternoon and asserted that he had asked Musk to leave his administration and said the billionaire went 'CRAZY!'
'Elon was "wearing thin," I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote.
The president then threatened to pull SpaceX and Tesla's government contracts.
'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!' Trump wrote.
It ratcheted up even more, with Musk saying he could decommission the only rocket ships that are currently hauling U.S. astronauts and their supplies to the International Space Station.
Musk also made the Epstein charge and later said he would back Trump's impeachment, saying he was for Vice President J.D. Vance taking the president's place.
Steve Bannon, a longtime adviser of Trump and a leader of the MAGA movement, pushed that the South African-born Musk be investigated - and maybe even deported.
Last Friday, Trump had heralded Musk in the Oval Office, gifting him a golden key and giving him a send-off from DOGE, as the billionaire headed back into the private sector.
As Thursday evening approached, Trump's Tesla remained parked on West Executive Avenue, just steps away from the West Wing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
34 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Man mistakenly deported to El Salvador brought back to US to face charges
His abrupt release from El Salvador is the latest twist in a saga that sparked a months-long standoff between Trump administration officials and the courts over a deportation that officials initially acknowledged was done in error but then continued to stand behind in apparent defiance of orders by judges to facilitate his return to the US. The development occurred after US officials presented El Salvador President Nayib Bukele with an arrest warrant for federal charges in Tennessee accusing Abrego Garcia of playing a key role in smuggling immigrants into the country for money. He is expected to be prosecuted in the US and, if convicted, will be returned to his home country of El Salvador at the conclusion of the case, officials said. 'This is what American justice looks like,' US attorney general Pam Bondi said in announcing Abrego Garcia's return and the unsealing of a grand jury indictment. Abrego Garcia's lawyers called the case 'baseless'. 'There's no way a jury is going to see the evidence and agree that this sheet metal worker is the leader of an international MS-13 smuggling conspiracy,' lawyer Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said. Federal magistrate judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville, Tennessee, determined that Abrego Garcia will be held in custody until at least next Friday, when there will be an arraignment and detention hearing. The indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia that charges him with transporting people who were in the United States illegally (AP Photo/Jon Elswick) Abrego Garcia appeared in court wearing a short-sleeved, white, buttoned shirt. When asked if he understood the charges, he told the judge through an interpreter: 'Yes. I understand.' Democrats and immigrant rights groups had pressed for Abrego Garcia's release, with several politicians – including senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, where Abrego Garcia had lived for years – even travelling to El Salvador to visit him. A federal judge had ordered him to be returned in April and the US Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal by directing the government to work to bring him back. But the news that Abrego Garcia, who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation to his native country over fears he would face persecution from local gangs, was being brought back for the purpose of prosecution was greeted with dismay by his lawyers. The case also prompted the resignation of a top supervisor in the US attorney's office in Nashville, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. Ben Schrader, who was chief of the office's criminal division, did not explain the reason for his resignation but posted to social media around the time the indictment was being handed down, saying: 'It has been an incredible privilege to serve as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where the only job description I've ever known is to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons.' He declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press on Friday.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Tesla shares rebound slightly after $150bn wipe-out triggered by Musk's spat with Trump
Tesla shares were sent into freefall on Thursday after Elon Musk sounded off about Donald Trump and his policies on social media this week. The debacle saw roughly $150billion wiped from Tesla's market value in one of the worst days in months. While the electric car maker's share price tumbled 14 per cent on Thursday, it rebounded slightly on Friday following some indications tempers were cooling between the duo. Earlier this week, Trump threatened to cut off government contracts to Musk's businesses, including rocket firm SpaceX, which has contracts worth tens of billions of dollars with the US government. In response, Musk fired back and said: 'Go ahead, make my day.' The saga seemed to quieten somewhat on Friday as Musk broke his silence by agreeing with an X post that claimed he never attacked Trump personally. The initial feud was ignited over Musk's opposition to Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill', before he launched into a series of attacks on the president and alleged he was 'in the Epstein files. Trump quickly branded Musk 'crazy' and said he has 'lost his mind'. The president also moved to sell his Tesla that he bought from Musk when their relationship was rosier in March, in a parting insult after saying he ousted Musk from his White House. US subsidies and contracts at Federal and state level are worth billions to Tesla, which also currently benefits from a $7,500 tax credit available for electric vehicle purchases. Tesla shares closed at $295.14 this week, down around 14 per cent on less than a week ago and down nearly a quarter on where they were six months ago. But the shares are still around 66 higher than they were a year ago. Tesla shares rose more than 60 per cent between the start of November when Trump was elected to the end of 2024. But investor pressure over Musk's controversial role in the White House ultimately led to him to stepping down from his unofficial 'DOGE' department, which had sparked protests and vandalism directed at Tesla. Tesla shares were on a run more recently, however, after Musk confirmed the group would be testing an autonomous, driverless 'robotaxi' service in Austin, Texas, this month. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said this week: 'Tesla shareholders are stuck in the middle of the battle zone as whatever happens to Musk will act as a proxy for the car company's share price. 'Trump has signalled he could terminate US government contracts with Musk's companies, causing Tesla's share price to crash 14 per cent in a day.' He added: 'Musk's outspokenness is becoming a liability for Tesla shareholders. 'He recently pledged to stay on as CEO for at least another five years, but if he cannot be restrained from stoking fires on the public stage, Tesla's board might have to think long and hard about his future with the business.' Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said on Friday: 'I spoke almost a year ago to Mark Spiegel of Stanphyl Capital in New York. 'He said it was just a matter of time before Musk and Trump fell out – the only question was who would shaft who first but his view was that sooner or later everyone "gets Musked". 'An ugly, name-calling, chest-thumping public brawl on Twitter between the richest guy in the world and the most powerful guy in the world – it's what the platform was made for. 'It's also whacked Tesla stock as bulls need to reassess their upside case for the carmaker. 'Both probably realise that this is doing each of them a lot of harm – Musk could lose billions of dollars in government contracts and tax credits, while Trump could see his 'big beautiful bill' fail to pass.'
Evening Standard
an hour ago
- Evening Standard
Trump announces US-China trade talks in London next week
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Mr Trump said Mr Xi had agreed to restart exports of rare earth minerals and magnets to the US which China had slowed, threatening a range of manufacturers that relied on the critical materials.
