Trump warns of 'consequences' if Musk funds rivals - as post claiming president appears in Epstein files removed
Donald Trump has warned of "serious consequences" if Elon Musk funds his political rivals, as a social media post claiming the US president appears in files relating to the disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been removed.
Speaking on Saturday to Sky News' US partner NBC News, Mr Trump warned of repercussions if Musk funded Democrats who opposed his sweeping budget bill.
"If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that," Trump said in a phone interview.
"He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," he added, not specifying what those consequences would be.
'The truth will come out'
It came after the tech billionaire made the allegation on X as he traded blows with the US president in a dramatic public row.
In the post, which now appears to have been deleted, Musk said: "@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.
"Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out."
He gave no evidence for the claim, which was dismissed by the White House - with the post disappearing from his social media platform by Sunday.
Users clicking on the message - first posted on Thursday - were instead greeted with: "Hmm...this page doesn't exist. Try searching for something else."
Epstein killed himself in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors.
JD Vance has his say
Amid the fallout, vice president JD Vance said Musk was making a "huge mistake" going after Mr Trump but characterised him as an "emotional guy" who got frustrated.
He made the comments in an interview with comedian and podcaster Theo Von - one of the "manosphere" influencers the Trump team targeted to gain votes with young men during the election.
"I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear," Mr Vance said.
He also claimed that such outbursts "happen to everyone", adding: "I've flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours."
'Big ugly spending bill'
Musk and Mr Trump's relationship broke down publicly on Thursday, just days after the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive left his role as a special government employee.
In a fiery exchange, Musk posted a series of messages on X criticising the president's signature tax and spending bill as a "big ugly spending bill".
President Trump posted on Truth Social, saying Musk had been "wearing thin" and claimed he "asked him to leave" his government position - something Musk denied.
Musk then hit back with his claim about the US president appearing in the Epstein files.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the comment 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," she said.
"The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again."
The spat hit Tesla shares, which closed down 14.3% on Thursday, losing about $150bn (£111bn) in value.
In an interview with ABC News, Mr Trump was asked about reports a phone call was scheduled between him and Musk on Friday.
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