Right-Wingers Are Struggling to Cope With the Trump-Musk Feud
Donald Trump and Elon Musk's bromance appears to be over after the president and the world's richest man went after each other with a vengeance on Thursday. Trump implied Musk's opposition to his legislative agenda is the result of Trump Derangement Syndrome, called the Tesla billionaire 'CRAZY,' and threatened to cancel Musk's federal contracts. Musk called Trump 'sad,' alleged the president is on the Epstein list, and even suggested he should be impeached.
It's one of the wildest political breakups in recent memory, and, yes, the media, the internet, and everyone in and around Washington, D.C., is losing their mind over the spat, popcorn in hand.
Trump has seemed relatively nonplussed about the ordeal ('I don't mind Elon turning against me,' he wrote on Truth Social), while Musk has been all over the place. The SpaceX chief wrote that the company will 'begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately, but then backtracked after a random X account suggested he 'cool off' and 'step back.' Bill Ackman, one of the right-leaning tech moguls caught in the middle of the feud, wrote that Trump and Musk should 'make peace for the benefit of our great country,' to which Musk replied, 'You're not wrong.' Musk has since called Steve Bannon a 'retard' several times as the staunch Trump ally calls for the administration to seize SpaceX and investigate Musk's immigration status.
The White House is trying to broker a truce between the two men, according to Politico, but Maggie Haberman of The New York Times has reported that the administration is prepared to force allies of both men to choose sides in the spat. Trump told CNN on Friday morning that he's 'not even thinking' about Musk, that the 'poor guy' has 'a problem,' and that he 'won't be speaking to him for a while.' White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told NBC News on Friday that there 'are no plans for a call today,' with a senior White House official adding that Trump is 'not interested' in talking to Musk.
The feud was a bomb in the middle of the right-wing ecosystem, with some commentators taking sides and others straining themselves to rationalize the falling out between two figures they have spent the past months lionizing.
'Some of y'all cant handle 2 high agency males going at it and it really shows,' conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec wrote on X. 'This is direct communication (phallocentric) vs indirect communication (gynocentric). I understand you aren't used to it.' Robby Starbuck, another MAGA commentator, wrote that it 'doesn't have to be over' for Trump and Musk, and that 'dominant men often develop deep friction when they disagree.' He then compared them to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams and said he hopes Trump and Musk reconcile 'for the betterment of humanity.' So did Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. 'President Trump built this movement over 10 years. His supporters are NOT going anywhere,' he wrote. 'I hope Elon and Trump reconcile and do so privately. It would be good for the country and the world if they do.'
Ashley St. Clair, the MAGA influencer and allegedly jilted mother of one of Musk's children, knows a split when she sees one, though. 'hey @realDonaldTrump lmk if u need any breakup advice,' she wrote.
The post that struck the deepest nerve among the right may have been Musk's claim that Trump is mentioned in government files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Several MAGA commentators dismissed the allegation, noting that if this were true the Biden administration would have made sure everyone knew it. Sean Hannity spent a few minutes on the air working through his emotions on the feud, including by claiming that Trump was 'one of the first people to realize just how horrible Epstein really was' before suggesting Bill Clinton may be on the list.
InfoWars founder Alex Jones was not convinced, calling for Trump to respond to the allegation immediately. 'What a POS Alex Jones turned out to be — what a fucking fraud,' wrote MAGA influencer @catturd2. 'I used to respect Alex Jones but now he's just a piece of shit fraud. What a fucking sellout.'
'I am not on team Trump or team Elon. I am on team humanity, which equals team truth,' Jones, who was found liable for nearly $1 billion in damages for lying about the Sandy Hook massacre, wrote later.
Pro-Trump voices like @catturd2 and pro-Musk commentators like Ian Miles Cheong — who wrote that Trump 'wishes he was Elon' — have been sparring nonstop on X since the feud exploded Thursday afternoon, but there are also plenty of real-world implications for the apparent breakup, which Laura Ingraham of Fox News reported was 'irreparable.'
The Senate is set to take up the 'big, beautiful' tax bill that set off the feud, and many Republican lawmakers have nodded to Musk's arguments about the trillion it is expected to add to the deficit. There's also the very real possibility that Trump could punish Musk, either by revoking his federal contracts or reviving federal probes into his companies. As one senior Trump appointee told Rolling Stone on Thursday: 'THIS ADMINISTRATION COULD ALWAYS START THE INVESTIGATIONS AGAIN.'
It's unclear for now how Trump will respond, but he certainly has the power to make things difficult for his former billionaire BFF, and — as he always does — to further inflame the already red-hot media firestorm he and Musk set off on Thursday.
More from Rolling Stone
Bromance Is Dead: Splitsville for Besties Trump and Musk
Trump and His Team Tease Vengeance Against Elon as Feud Goes Nuclear
Trump-Musk Feud Explodes as Elon Alleges Trump Is in Epstein Files
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