Trump hits back at ‘first buddy' Musk in war of words
Donald Trump and Elon Musk 's high-profile relationship has deteriorated, with Trump claiming Musk had gone "CRAZY" and threatening to terminate his government contracts.
Trump stated he removed Musk's EV mandate and accused him of only developing a problem when Trump planned to cut the electric vehicle mandate.
Musk claimed that without his help, Trump would have lost the 2024 election and alleged Trump is implicated in the Epstein files.
Musk criticised Trump's "big, beautiful bill" as a "disgusting abomination" due to cuts in the electric vehicle tax credit and the scrapping of Jared Isaacman 's NASA nomination.
The feud marks a significant downturn from their previous alliance, which included Musk's endorsement of Trump, financial support for his campaign, and advisory role in government efficiency.
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The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Republicans call for an end to Trump-Musk feud: ‘I hope it doesn't distract us'
As the Republican Party anticipates potential fallout from Donald Trump's public dispute with Elon Musk, prominent lawmakers and conservative voices are calling for reconciliation, wary of the repercussions of a sustained conflict. The animosity between the two figures could pose challenges for the Republican agenda, particularly concerning tax and border spending legislation championed by Trump but criticised by Musk. Representative Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington, expressed hope that the disagreement would not impede progress on critical tasks. Speaking on the matter, Newhouse said: "I hope it doesn't distract us from getting the job done that we need to. I think that it will boil over and they'll mend fences." As of Friday afternoon, Musk had refrained from further engagement, focusing instead on promoting his various companies on social media. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, voiced optimism for a resolution, telling Fox News that, "I hope that both of them come back together because when the two of them are working together, we'll get a lot more done for America than when they're at cross purposes". Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, sounded almost pained on social media as Trump and Musk volleyed insults at each other, sharing a photo composite of the two men and writing, "But … I really like both of them.' 'Who else really wants @elonmusk and @realDonaldTrump to reconcile?' Lee posted, later adding: 'Repost if you agree that the world is a better place with the Trump-Musk bromance fully intact.' So far, the feud between Trump and Musk is probably best described as a moving target, with plenty of opportunities for escalation or detente. One person familiar with the president's thinking said Musk wants to speak with Trump, but that the president doesn't want to do it – or at least do it on Friday. The person requested anonymity to disclose private matters. In a series of conversations with television anchors Friday morning, Trump showed no interest in burying the hatchet. Asked on ABC News about reports of a potential call between him and Musk, the president responded: 'You mean the man who has lost his mind?' Trump added in the ABC interview that he was 'not particularly' interested in talking to Musk at the moment. Still, others remained hopeful that it all would blow over. 'I grew up playing hockey and there wasn't a single day that we played hockey or basketball or football or baseball, whatever we were playing, where we didn't fight. And then we'd fight, then we'd become friends again,' Hannity said on his show Thursday night. Acknowledging that it 'got personal very quick,' Hannity nonetheless added that the rift was 'just a major policy difference.' House Speaker Mike Johnson projected confidence that the dispute would not affect prospects for the tax and border bill. 'Members are not shaken at all,' the Louisiana Republican said. 'We're going to pass this legislation on our deadline.' He added that he hopes Musk and Trump reconcile, saying 'I believe in redemption' and 'it's good for the party and the country if all that's worked out.' But he also had something of a warning for the billionaire entrepreneur. 'I'll tell you what, do not doubt and do not second-guess and don't ever challenge the president of the United States, Donald Trump,' Johnson said. "He is the leader of the party. He's the most consequential political figure of this generation and probably the modern era.'
The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
As Putin ramps up his summer offensive in Ukraine, will he succeed?
A peevish spokesman for Vladimir Putin bristled with indignation this week at Donald Trump 's description of Russia 's invasion of Ukraine as 'like kids fighting in the park'. It's not, Dmitry Peskov pouted, the conflict is an 'existential question' for Russia. 'This is a question of our security and the future of ourselves and our children, the future of our country,' continued Putin's spokesman who has grown more accustomed to preening with pleasure at the relentless assaults on Ukraine from the White House this year. He is right. Victory for Russia was once defined as regime change in Kyiv. But it really need only be a messed up Ukraine, unstable, violent and impoverished. Because a democratic Ukraine enjoying cultural renaissance, freedom, and economic growth with lots of Russian speakers shows Russia's population that there's an alternative to the kleptocratic autocracy they currently endure. As the summer fighting season gets underway in the fourth year of Putin's full scale invasion of its neighbour, Russia has clearly shifted its main effort to forever destabilising Ukraine. Kyiv, meanwhile, has demonstrated that it is no longer on the back foot, and that it is far from defeated. Indeed two years after its failed summer counter offensive, Kyiv is growing in strength and confidence. Ukraine doesn't have the capacity to drive Russia out of its lands this year. But it is hanging on and by next year may find it has the upper hand as European aid begins to come through to replace the military support that the US has withdrawn. Donald Trump has provided no new military support this year. About $3.85 billion remains unspent from previous allocations – after that… nothing. Russian forces have renewed their attacks around Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka on the eastern front. The aim here is to try to encircle Ukrainian forces and cut the supply routes to Kramatorsk, the administrative headquarters of Ukrainian held Donetsk province which Russia has mostly captured – and illegally annexed. Ukrainian military sources on the ground have reported a massive increase in the range and efficacy of Russian fiberoptic guided drones with a range up to 15 miles unspooling a filament of optical cable directly connected to an operator on the ground. The guidance system makes them invulnerable to jamming equipment used by Ukraine. Elite Russian drone forces have been deployed from the Russian counter attacks to drive Kyiv's forces out of Kursk to the eastern front, they said. The results have been very small advances by Russian troops, at enormous cost. Nato estimates that around 950 Russians are being killed every day. Although casualty figures are rarely accurate, live video feeds show small numbers of Russian and Ukrainian troops scrabbling for cover and dodging drones in the dust and rubble of apocalyptic landscapes - which are now believed to be responsible for more than 70 per cent of casualties. Ukraine has repeatedly offered an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and face-to-face meetings between Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin. The US efforts to broker an armistice have gone nowhere while Russia is trying to capture more of Ukraine. Putin may have given up on regime change but he wants to take all of the territories Russia has illegally annexed – Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk, as well as hanging on to Crimea. If he manages this he may be able to convince European leaders that a peace along lines defined by the Kremlin is the least-bad outcome. This summer his main targets continue to be the central section of the eastern front but he is also driving hard on Ukraine's northern border with incursions and the capture of small border villages. This allows Moscow to add pressure on Kyiv – keeping the battle closer to Ukraine's centres of power by putting major cities, and regional capitals, like Sumy and Kharkiv under constant threat from artillery and short range rockets. Russia's wider air campaign has been drastically ramped up. More than 400 missiles and drones are now swarming Ukraine on an almost nightly basis with cruise and ballistic missiles getting through air defences in greater numbers because of a shortage of air defences – notably the US manufactured Patriot systems which are the most effective in downing Moscow's most dangerous long range weapons. On Saturday, the mayor of Kharkiv said citizens had faced the largest Russian bombardment of the city of the war, involving dozens of drones . 'Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war,' Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. But Nato has recently announced an extra €20 billion in military aid. Germany has said it will soon send Ukraine long-range bombs capable of striking deep into Russia. The UK has added £350 million in funding for 100,000 new drones and already delivered 144,000 rounds of artillery ammunition this year. Dutch defense minister Ruben Brekelmans said the Netherlands is giving €400 million euros including 100 naval vessels, including patrol boats, transport boats, interceptors, and special operations ships and more than 50 naval drones. Norway is stumping up $700 million in 'drone-aid' too. This shift to drone warfare has allowed Ukraine to regain initiative to offset the sheer mass of old-school military might that Russia has brought to bear. The 'meat grinder' assaults by Russian infantry have almost stopped. Ukrainian officers told The Independent that Russian artillery bombardments have fallen away as drones have easily tracked and destroyed the big guns of the traditional battlefield. And Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb, in which Kyiv claimed to have destroyed or damaged a third of Russia's strategic bombers along with some spy planes in a staggering long range long term operation that hit Russian airfields 5,000km apart, have greatly boosted morale. Along with ongoing long-range assaults with drones on Moscow's airports, its energy infrastructure, and commanders themselves, Ukraine has turned the tactics of hybrid warfare developed by Russia back on Putin. It is unlikely Ukraine will turn Trump back to outright support for the embattled democracy – he has gone too far in his public support for Putin to make that a credible ambition. But there are signs that America won't try to cripple Kyiv's war efforts as it has threatened to do. No wonder Putin's peeved.
Reuters
23 minutes ago
- Reuters
Foreign exposure to US assets may be lower than feared
ORLANDO, Florida, June 3 (Reuters) - It is widely believed that investors around the world have a disproportionately high exposure to U.S. assets, particularly stocks, an imbalance that could roil U.S. markets if corrected. But what if these fears are overblown? Several eye-popping statistics suggest that America's weight in world financial markets is even greater than its outsized economic might. Most strikingly, the U.S. net international investment position (NIIP), or foreign investors' holdings of U.S. assets less U.S. investors' holdings of overseas assets, at the end of 2024 was $26 trillion. That's nearly 24% of global GDP, up from 16% only two years earlier, a surge driven by foreigners' insatiable appetite for U.S. equities, mainly "Big Tech". Demand was so hot that, by some measures, the value of U.S.-listed stocks at the turn of the year represented 74% of total global market cap. That share was 60% six years ago, and less than half in 2011. But the attractiveness of dollar-denominated assets is now being questioned, as the often erratic policies of U.S. President Donald Trump have upset longstanding economic and geopolitical norms, making governments and investors question whether Washington is still a reliable partner on the global stage. The concern is that this eroding confidence triggers a reversal of the massive flows into Wall Street seen in recent years that has damaging spillover effects. Such a correction may not require outright selling. Given the scale of the flows involved, just less buying among foreign investors could be enough to cast a shadow over the world's most important stock market. And the running assumption is foreign investors don't have the capacity or willingness to increase their exposure to U.S. assets, creating a significant long-term downside risk for Wall Street, Treasuries and the dollar. "A structural shift is underway: the slow erosion of US economic dominance," analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote on Monday. But looked at another way, foreign exposure to U.S. assets may not be as high as initially meets the eye. That's the view of analysts at JP Morgan, who measure portfolio investment in U.S. bonds and equities as a share of countries' total household sector financial assets. They use a broad definition for a country's "household" sector, covering investments by institutions like insurance companies and pension funds that are ultimately made on behalf of households. Using a broad range of data, from central banks, U.S. Treasury and OECD household financial asset flows, they measure the ratio of U.S. equity and bond holdings relative to household financial assets in each country. They find that "relative to the total financial assets of households in the rest of the world, the allocations to U.S. assets typically stand at around 10-20%." As a result, they are "skeptical of the idea that foreign investors hold too much of U.S. assets." Given that U.S. equities account for more than 70% of the MSCI global market cap and dollar-denominated bonds represent around 50% of global bond indices, according to JP Morgan estimates, the 10-20% exposure of foreign investors to U.S. assets does appear surprisingly low. And the 10-20% figure would be even lower were it not for the outsized U.S. equity holdings at the Swiss National Bank and Norway's sovereign wealth fund. On the bond side, foreigners' footprint in the U.S. Treasury market is shrinking. Data shows that they owned 31% of the $28.55 trillion outstanding Treasury debt at the end of last year. That share has been declining steadily since the Global Financial Crisis. In 2008, the figure was approaching 60%. Overseas investors' share of the T-bill market has shrunk even more. In December, it was under 20%, near its lowest level on record and sharply down from 50% a decade before. Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and his team at JP Morgan aren't arguing investors will or should ramp up their purchases of U.S. assets. And in cases where allocations are high - such as the Taiwanese exposure to U.S. bonds or Canadians' holdings of U.S. stocks - diversification would hardly be a surprise. But there is "little indication" of broad-based selling of U.S. assets by foreign investors so far this year, they note. And if that selling does materialize, it may be far lighter than many expect. (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters)
