Trump says Musk will face 'very serious consequences' if he funds Democrats
By
Nandita Bose
, Reuters
Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Photo:
Brendan Smialowski / AFP
Donald Trump said on Saturday there would be "
serious consequences
" if Elon Musk funded US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the president's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill and said his relationship with his billionaire donor was over.
In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to say what those consequences would be, and went on to add that he had not had discussions about whether to
investigate Musk
.
Asked if he thought
his relationship
with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said, "I would assume so, yeah."
"No," Trump told NBC when asked if he had any desire to repair his relationship with Musk.
Musk and Trump began exchanging insults this week, as Musk denounced Trump's bill as a "disgusting abomination".
Musk's opposition to the measure was complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress, where Republicans hold a slim majority in the House of Representatives and Senate.
The bill narrowly passed the House last month and is now before the Senate, where Trump's fellow Republicans are considering making changes.
Nonpartisan analysts estimate the measure would add $2.4 trillion (NZ$4 trillion) to the US debt over 10 years.
Trump said on Saturday he was confident the bill would get passed by the US July 4 Independence Day holiday.
"In fact, yeah, people that were, were going to vote for it are now enthusiastically going to vote for it, and we expect it to pass," Trump told NBC.
Musk had deleted some social media posts critical of Trump, including one that signalled support for impeaching the president, appearing to seek a de-escalation of their public feud, which exploded on Thursday.
Trump late on Friday suggested a review of federal government contracts held by Musk.
People who have spoken to Musk said his anger had begun to recede and they think he would want to repair his relationship with Trump.
- Reuters
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