Trump and Musk set for showdown phone call after Epstein files claim

Irish Daily Mirror

17 hours ago

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are reportedly set for crunch talks over the phone today after their bromance came to a spectacular and petty end.
Taking to his X account yesterday, Mr Musk said it was "time to drop the really big bomb" before claiming that Mr Trump "is in the Epstein files". Mr Trump's name was released as previously sealed court documents were made public last year. There is no suggestion he knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour.
Once Mr Trump's right hand man, Mr Musk left his special government position as the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago.
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Rapper Kanye West, who has repeatedly endorsed Donald Trump in the past, appeared to react to his feud with Musk yesterday.
Broooos please noooooo We love you both so much
On Thursday, Trump said he was "disappointed" with Musk's criticisms of his tax and spending bill.
Musk responded, saying: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.'
'Such ingratitude,' he added.
The once-powerful alliance between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk has dramatically imploded.
After months of apparent unity, their relationship unraveled this week over Trump's sweeping tax bill. Tensions boiled over as Musk publicly called for Trump's impeachment and launched a series of scathing social media attacks - even accusing the president, without evidence, of appearing in the mysterious 'Epstein files.'
These documents, linked to disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, include secret travel logs and guest lists that have long fueled speculation and conspiracy theories.
Trump hit back hard, claiming he had already ousted Musk from his White House advisory role and hinting at slashing federal subsidies and contracts to the billionaire's companies.
The two are due to speak over the phone today.
Elon Musk has shared a wild conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump has been replaced by a body double.
Mr Musk hinted that his former pal may have been replaced by someone else when the two billionaires exchanged heated insults online.
"Where is the man who wrote these words? Was he replaced by a body double?" Mr Musk wrote, retweeting a post that detailed several occasions where he praised Mr Trump and his policies.
Where is the man who wrote these words?Was he replaced by a body double!? https://t.co/N4Mliip5U4
It was an explosive war of words which infamously blew up like one of Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets.
Yet in only a way Donald Trump could do, the maverick politician has today brushed it under the carpet. He came under interrogation by reporters - but somewhat found a way to give the spat with Mr Musk another spectacular dimension.
When asked about the very public breakup with his one-time megabacker, the nonchalant President said: "It's going very well, never done better." These bizarre seven words jar hugely with the farce which had played out on the world's stage just hours before - with both billionaires angrily posted about each other on social media.
Mr Trump and Mr Musk could speak on the phone today.
POLITICO reports White House aides scheduled a call with the billionaire Tesla owner to broker a peace, but adds that had to persuade the President to temper his public criticism of Mr Musk to avoid escalation.
Donald Trump was today urged to "deport Elon Musk immediately" amid the pair's blistering row.
The US President has also been encouraged to scrap all of the tech billionaire's contracts and launch several investigations into the world's richest man. Mr Musk, 53, had this week denounced Mr Trump's signature domestic policy bill as an "abomination" and, since then, tensions between the pair have escalated.
Yesterday, the SpaceX founder and the world leader, 78, sniped at each other from their own social media platforms with incendiary attacks over matters significant and petty. Now, Stephen K Bannon, one of Elon Musk's most vocal critics, has waded into the feud, branding the billionaire as "an illegal alien".
Investors bought hundreds of billions of dollars of Tesla stock after Donald Trump was elected on a bet that politics were more important than profits.
In three hours Thursday, they learned yet again how dangerous that gamble could be.
Shares of Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker plunged more than 14% in a stunning wipeout as investors dumped holdings amid a bitter war of words between the president and the world's richest man. By the end of the trading day, $150 billion of Tesla's value had been erased, more than what it would take to buy all the shares of Starbucks and hundreds of other big publicly traded U.S. companies.
The disagreement started over the president's budget bill, then quickly turned nasty. After Musk said that Trump wouldn't haven't gotten elected without his help, Trump implied that he may turn the federal government against his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk's alliance took off like one of SpaceX's rockets but now it has spectacularly blown up and here are all the insults exchanged today.
The spectacular flameout Thursday peaked as Trump threatened to cut Musk's government contracts and the tech billionaire claimed that US government hasn't released all the records related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them. There is no suggestion Donald Trump knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour. Musk even shared a post on social media calling for Trump's impeachment and skewered the president's signature tariffs, predicting a recession this year.
The messy blow-up between the president of the United States and the world 's richest man played out on their respective social media platforms after Trump was asked during a White House meeting with Germany's new leader about Musk's criticism of his spending bill.
The messy blow-up between the president of the United States and the world's richest man played out on their respective social media platforms after Trump was asked during a White House meeting with Germany's new leader about Musk's criticism of his spending bill.
Trump had largely remained silent as Musk stewed over the last few days on his social media platform X, condemning the president's so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill.' But Trump clapped back Thursday in the Oval Office, saying he was 'very disappointed in Musk.'
Musk responded on social media in real time. Trump, who was supposed to be spending Thursday discussing an end to the Russia-Ukraine war with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, ratcheted up the stakes when he turned to his own social media network, Truth Social, and threatened to use the U.S. government to hurt Musk's bottom line by going after contracts held by his internet company Starlink and rocket company SpaceX.
'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump wrote on his social media network.
'Go ahead, make my day," Musk quickly replied on X.
Hours later, Musk announced SpaceX would begin decommissioning the spacecraft it used to carry astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station for NASA.
Musk also said, without offering evidence of how he might know the information, that Trump was 'in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!'
Elon Musk has sharply intensified his conflict with President Trump, effectively threatening to leave NASA astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station.
The billionaire tech mogul announced on X Thursday that he is decommissioning his company's Dragon spacecraft 'immediately.'
This dramatic step came after Trump posted on Truth Social suggesting he might terminate all US government contracts with Musk's commercial space company, SpaceX.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk's alliance took off like one of SpaceX's rockets. It was supercharged and soared high. And then it blew up.
The spectacular flameout on Thursday peaked as Trump threatened to cut Musk's government contracts and Musk claimed that Trump's administration hasn't released all the records related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them.
The tech entrepreneur even shared a post on social media calling for Trump's impeachment and skewered the president's signature tariffs, predicting a recession this year.
Question Time has been halted for "breaking news" as US President Donald Trump issued a scathing threat to friend and former special advisor Elon Musk. As Fiona Bruce and a panel of politicians were live in Wales and taking questions from a studio audience, the broadcast was interrupted with a fresh report after Trump threatened to end Musk's government contracts.
Elon Musk announced he would leave his special role heading the Department of Government Efficiency last week, which the billionaire was always set to depart from.
The Tesla chief had fully burrowed his way right into the heart of Donald Trump's inner circle after he pumped millions of dollars into the Republican's campaign. Musk's money bought his way into the US government, several Oval Office apperances and even a private election night watch party with Trump's family last year.
Despite this, the Washington bromance has fallen apart and decended into a petty row on social media. This started when Musk called Trump's tax bill a "disgusting abomination". He said: "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."
The bill would curtail subsidies that benefit Tesla, Musk's electric automaker.
Trump today, in the Oval Office, said he was "very disappointed" in Elon and claimed the businessman "misses the place". The President said: "I've helped Elon a lot."
The President then threatened to take billions of dollars away from Musk's companies saying he could "terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts". Trump added: "Elon was "wearing thin," I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!"
Since then, Musk hit back at Trump with an unverified "bomb" claim about the President and the Epstein files.
Trump responded to the tech boss and said: "I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago."
Last year, he poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump's campaign and used his platform to tilt the digital scales back in the then former president's favour. He was repaid, in his mind, with promises and access to the corridors of government. Those doors have now been slammed shut.
In a sense, the Epstein claim is Musk's final scorched-earth strategy. And in Trump, he's found the perfect foil: a man whose documented past with the late Wall Street financier is impossible to ignore. Let's not forget, Trump wasn't just an acquaintance of Prince Andrew's pal Epstein - they were tight.
'Terrific guy,' Trump once said of him in New York Magazine in 2002. 'He likes beautiful women… many of them on the younger side.'
The pair partied together in Palm Beach. Epstein was a frequent guest at Mar-a-Lago. Photos, videos, flight logs - the connections are not just alleged, they're archived.
Trump now claims he 'banned' Epstein from his clubs in the early 2000s and insists they weren't close. But the record says otherwise - and Musk knows it.
There is no suggestion Trump knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour.
The explosive end of Washington's biggest bromance has been more than just petty words thrown across social media.
Donald Trump has threatened to cut Elon Musk's contracts and government subsidies for the billionaire's companies. After the Tesla boss called Trump's tax bill a "disgusting abomination", the US President put the pressure on Musk by suggesting he could take billions of dollars away from the bussinessman.
Trump, on Truth Social, said: "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!"
'I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot,' Donald Trump said in the Oval Office today as Musk continued criticizing the 'big beautiful bill.'
Trump said Musk 'misses the place' since he left his position in the administration spearheading the Department of Government of Efficiency.
He also said Musk was upset that electric vehicle incentives were on the chopping block in Republican legislation that's currently being debated in the Senate. Musk runs Tesla, an electric automaker.
Another point of contention was Musk's promotion of Jared Isaacman to run NASA. 'I didn't think it was appropriate,' Trump said, and he said Isaacman was 'totally a Democrat.'
Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who has been one of Musk's most vocal critics for months, said he was advising the president to cancel all of Musk's government contracts and launch several investigations into the world's richest man.
'They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately,' he said.
It comes with Trump and Musk engaged in a war of words which was brewing over the past few days with Musk criticising the US president's "big beautiful bill".
And among the angry exchanges today, Trump wrote: "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!"
A spectacular blow-up began after Trump first broached the topic in a White House meeting with Germany's new leader.
Trump told reporters he was 'very disappointed in Musk' and Musk responded on social media in real time.
Then the US president ratcheted up the stakes when he turned to his own social media network, Truth Social, and threatened to use the government to hurt Musk's bottom line with his internet company Starlink and rocket company SpaceX.
'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump wrote on his social media network. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!'
'This just gets better and better,' Musk quickly replied on X. 'Go ahead, make my day.' The deepening rift unfurled much like their relationship started — rapidly, intensely and very publicly.
Musk later offered a stinging insult to a president sensitive about his standing among voters: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election,' Musk retorted. 'Such ingratitude,' Musk said in a follow-up post.
While the spat reached a new depth when Musk wrote on X: "Time to drop the really big bomb" before claiming that Donald Trump "is in the Epstein files". There is no suggestion Trump knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour.
Like thunder follows lightning, Elon Musk's spectacular public fall-out tonight with Donald Trump was as predictable as night follows day.
The bromance was never built to last. A billionaire with delusions of being America's saviour, and a career reality-TV president with a steel spine for betrayal - the only surprise is that it took this long to implode. Tonight, the dam burst.
'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,' Musk declared on X, the platform he owns. 'That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!'
Let that sink in. The world's richest man, once known as Trump's 'First Buddy', just accused the sitting US president of being named in classified government files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose name is synonymous with global elite scandal. No cryptic memes. No dog whistles. Just a nuclear accusation, live on the platform Musk controls.
And it didn't come out of nowhere. This bomb was wrapped in a detonator: Trump's £960 billion trillion spending 'big, beautiful' spending bill, which gutted electric vehicle tax credits and wiped nearly £29.5 billion off Tesla's value in a single day.
Musk's flagship company has now hit the skids. The man who once boasted of 'saving Western civilisation' by putting Trump back on Twitter now finds himself politically exiled and financially wounded by the very man he helped re-elect.
Of course, this was never just about policy. This is about ego, power, and two men who can't stand being second to anyone. Musk had reason to believe he was a kingmaker.
Elon Musk has kicked off on X with a tirade of anti-Trump tweets and reactions following their bitter fallout.
The Tesla CEO responded to a post where another X user said: "President vs Elon. Who wins? My money's on Elon. Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him."
Musk responded and said: "Yes."
Donald Trump has been one of many famous names to appear on the files about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The current President was named as an associate on documents, that were unsealed last year.
Other names included famous celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael Jackson. Some other big names were Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton. Prince Andrew has strenuously denied all allegations.
Read the full list here.
The US President has posted after the Tesla boss dopped a huge claim about him.
The Republican appeared to ignore that post and hit back out at Musk's tax bill disapproval.
Trump said: "I don't mind Elon turning against me, be he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presnted to Congress.
"It's a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn't pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that.
"I didn't create this mess, I'm just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Read the full story here.
The tax bill fallout turned personal when the President lashed out at the former so-called "first buddy" earlier today.
Trump, on Truth Social, wrote: "Elon was "wearing thin," I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!"
The CEO-loving President and the Tesla boss parted ways just a week ago, when Musk stepped away from his special role in the US government.
It was always known that the billioanire's job in Washington would be temporary but rumours of spats between Musk and Trump's top team had echoed through the capital for months.
Just days later, Elon's public disapproval of a new Republican tax bill, where he called it a "disgusting abomination" would ignite the spectacular teen-like clash online.
Elon Musk, on X, wrote: "Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!"
Musk then replied to his post and added: "Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out."
Trump was named as an associate of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, when previously sealed court documents were made public last year. There is no suggestion he knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour.
The Tesla boss, on X, wrote: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate."