Musk calls Trump's bill an 'abomination.' I hate it when our two weird dads fight.
Musk calls Trump's bill an 'abomination.' I hate it when our two weird dads fight. | Opinion Pairing two loony, conspiratorial billionaires like Donald Trump and Elon Musk never seemed likely to end well, especially since each has a severe allergy to the truth.
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Elon Musk slams Trump's big tax bill on X
Days after leaving the White House, Elon Musk slammed President Trump's big tax bill on X.
Oh dear, America. It looks like we're about to witness a big, ol' raging-narcissist billionaire fight.
Noted uber-rich-nuisance Elon Musk appears to have turned on his MAGA BFF President Donald Trump, declaring the president's absurdly named One Big Beautiful Bill Act, under consideration in the U.S. Senate, 'a disgusting abomination.'
What the heck, Elon? Which part of 'Big' and 'Beautiful' do you not understand? 'The Disgusting Abomination Bill' is something Democrats would call it if they were clever enough to come up with a name like that and bold enough to use it.
'I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk whined about Trump's bill
The builder of ugly electric trucks and rockets that go boom when they're not supposed to posted on X, 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.'
He also posted: 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.'
I HATE IT WHEN OUR WEIRD, SUPER RICH DADS FIGHT!
Opinion: A letter to sad Elon Musk, from America ‒ 'Hey pal, sorry everybody was mean.'
We all knew the Musk/MAGA breakup was coming
Pairing two loony, conspiratorial billionaires like Trump and Musk never seemed likely to end well, especially because each has a severe allergy to the truth.
After Musk bought Trump his second presidency and then, via destructive slash-and-burn work with the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, turned his Tesla car brand toxic, it was clear he wanted to step away from politics and get back to failing at other things.
But the recent 'Elon's leaving DOGE' fanfare seemed a bit like a divorce the White House was trying to sugarcoat.
Then, on June 3, Musk had the audacity to call Trump's screw-the-poor, help-the-rich big, beautiful bologna bill disgusting.
Opinion: Democrats want a liberal Joe Rogan to help them win elections. I'm right here.
'Elon is terribly wrong'
That prompted GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson to say: 'With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the One Big Beautiful Bill.'
While it's hard to take someone seriously when they, as an actual adult person, use the words 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' Johnson's clearly teeing his party up to pick a side, and Musk isn't going to like the side that gets picked.
Musk's foray into politics may have shown him that politicians are bad
With his billions and his ego and the many yes-people around him, Musk probably assumed he could bend politics to his will. He barnstormed through federal agencies, making an absolute mess of things while overpromising and underdelivering, just as he's done with Tesla and SpaceX.
He also helped himself out on the federal contracts front, likely bringing billions of dollars to his own companies.
But when it comes to tax breaks for billionaires and getting rid of things right-wingers don't like, like tax credits for electric vehicles!, Musk is no match for House Republicans.
Their bill will spike the deficit.
Musk and Trump are prime examples of why we shouldn't have billionaires
And now it appears that Musk will complain loudly about the bill and possibly continue to threaten to go after the Republican lawmakers who vote for it. Trump, depending on which side of his bread he wants buttered, might lash back at Musk, giving Americans a front-row seat to a good old-fashioned stupid-off.
And so it goes. Rich people are going to claim they did great things and then fight over whose thing is greater than the other guy's thing. It's typical.
The rest of us will be left wondering, for the 10 billionth time, why people with this much damn money can't just be happy and shut up.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
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