Call with China's Xi, and Trump, Musk exchange fueled barbs during 20th week in office
President Donald Trump and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk engaged in a public feud Thursday (—) less than a week after the White House held a farewell press conference for Musk highlighting his contributions spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk departed his tenure as a special government employee with DOGE May 30, but swiftly launched into criticisms of Trump's massive tax and spending package dubbed the "big, beautiful, bill." Tuesday, Musk labeled the measure a "disgusting abomination" because of reports it ramps up the federal deficit.
On Thursday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Musk opposed the bill because it eliminates an electric vehicle tax credit that benefits companies like Tesla. But Trump said that provision has always been part of the measure.
"I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people," Trump said in the Oval Office in a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that's billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair."
Musk immediately responded on X to Trump's statements, urging a removal of the "disgusting pork" included in the measure. He also said it was "false" that he was shown the measure "even once."
The two continued to publicly spar against one another, with Musk asserting that Trump wouldn't have won the 2024 election if it weren't for his own backing. Meanwhile, Trump accused Musk of going "CRAZY" over cuts to the EV credits, and said that Musk was "wearing thin."
Additionally, Trump told Fox News on Friday that "Elon's totally lost it" and was not interested in speaking over the phone with Musk, despite media reports suggesting the two would talk.
Here's what also happened this week:
Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz met with Trump at the White House Thursday, where the two discussed the war in Ukraine.
While Merz asserted that the U.S. was in a powerful spot to bring a meaningful end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Trump offered that the world might need to "let them fight for a little while."
"America is again in a very strong position to do something on this war and ending this war," Merz said.
Merz said that Germany was willing to help however it could, and wanted to discuss options to partner with the U.S. to bring peace. Likewise, Merz suggested that European allies exert additional pressure on Russia to end the conflict.
But Trump said that he told Putin in a recent call that perhaps both countries would need to feel the consequences of fighting more acutely, claiming he told Putin "maybe you're going to have to keep fighting and suffering a lot."
"Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy – they hate each other, and they're fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart, they don't want to be pulled," Trump said. "Sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart."
Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday to discuss trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
"I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal," Trump said Thursday in a Truth Social post. "The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries."
Trump said the conversation focused "almost entirely" on trade, and that Xi invited the U.S. president and first lady Melania Trump to visit China. Likewise, Trump reciprocated and invited Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to visit the U.S.
The call comes nearly a week after Trump condemned China May 30 for violating an initial trade agreement that the U.S. and China hashed out in May. And on Wednesday, Trump said Xi was "extremely hard to make a deal with" in a Truth Social post.
The negotiations from May prompted both countries to agree that the U.S. would lower its tariffs against Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, and China would reduce its tariffs against U.S. imports from 125% to 10%.
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