BREAKING NEWS Trump urged to immediately SEIZE Space X from Musk after fallen 'First Buddy' threatened to leave NASA astronauts stranded in space
Donald Trump is facing calls to immediately seize control of SpaceX after Elon Musk threatened to abandon NASA astronauts in orbit amid a bitter fallout with the president.
In an explosive meltdown that began on Thursday afternoon Trump suggested hitting the 'crazy' entrepreneur where it hurts, threatening Musk's multibillion-dollar government contracts including for launching rockets and for the use of the Starlink satellite service.
'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump said on Truth Social.
Musk fired back, with the SpaceX chief saying he would begin 'decommissioning' his company's Dragon spacecraft in response.
The spacecraft is vital for ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Steve Bannon, a former senior adviser to Trump during his first administration and a fierce critic of Elon Musk, then called for the president to seize SpaceX from the billionaire entrepreneur.
Bannon urged the president to take action during his 'War Room Live' broadcast on Thursday.
Bannon suggested Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act - a national security measure dating back to the Korean War era - to seize control of Musk's company.
Donald Trump has been urged to immediately seize control of SpaceX after Elon Musk threatened to leave NASA astronauts stranded in space following a massive fall out with the president
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is vital for ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station
'The United States government should take possession of it,' Bannon declared.
He went further still, suggesting Musk be stripped of his security clearance and that all federal contracts awarded to Musk's various enterprises be suspended pending a full-scale investigation.
Bannon then went on to demand Trump initiate deportation proceedings against Musk.
'Elon Musk is here illegally. He's got to go,' Bannon said, despite the fact that Musk, originally from South Africa, has been a naturalized US citizen for more than twenty years.
'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,' Bannon said in a phone interview Thursday with The New York Times.
Later on his War Room show, Bannon - who has long openly criticized the billionaire - called Musk an 'unstable individual' and a 'national security issue,' pointing to The New York Times report that charted the DOGE leader's drug use.
'President Trump is a bull and Elon is a baby calf,' Bannon also said.
Following the disintegration of Trump and Musk's relationship, the SpaceX CEO posted on X that he had decided to decommission his company's Dragon spacecraft 'immediately.'
The move was in response to Trump posting on Truth Social that he would consider terminating all of the US government's contracts with Musk's commercial space company.
The decommissioning of the Dragon capsule would leave NASA without a proven American spacecraft capable of sending and retrieving astronauts from the space station.
There are currently four NASA astronauts on the ISS. It is unknown if Musk would allow astronauts to return to Earth on board the Dragon capsule still attached to the station.
Bannon then went on to demand Trump initiate deportation proceedings against Musk. Pictured, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are seen in October 2024
Just two months ago, Musk's Dragon spacecraft came to the rescue of astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were stranded on board the ISS for 286 days.
NASA also has a contract with Boeing, who is working on fixing their Starliner spacecraft, but the project has been plagued with problems that have left the craft untrustworthy for carrying humans to space at this time.
The spat between Musk and Trump broke out after the SpaceX boss voiced his opposition to the Republican-led 'Big Beautiful Bill.'
The budget reconciliation bill will reportedly add trillions to the national deficit, a move that enraged Musk and prompted his departure from the Trump Administration.
Musk had been overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which had reported saving the US tens of billions of dollars on so-called wasteful government projects.
DOGE's goal had been to get that number into the trillions.
Following his departure, a war of words broke out between Musk and the president over social media.
Earlier on Thursday, Musk claimed that Trump is 'in the Epstein files,' dramatically escalating the tensions between the billionaires.
Musk also suggested that Trump should be impeached and replaced with 40-year-old Vice President JD Vance.
Moments before the Epstein charge, Trump had taken to Truth Social and said he had asked Musk to leave his administration and said the billionaire went 'CRAZY!'
The president then found a new way of saving money in the federal budget, posting that he could cut 'Billions and Billions of Dollars' by ending the government's partnership with both of Musk's companies - SpaceX and Tesla.
SpaceX has been awarded over $17 billion in government contracts since 2015, according to ABC News. Much of that money comes from NASA and the Department of Defense.
Tesla has also received approximately $1 billion according to the latest figures from February.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, developed as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, is a reusable spacecraft designed to transport cargo and astronauts to the ISS.
It consists of a reusable capsule for the astronauts and an expendable trunk module, launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
There have been two main variants of the capsule: the Dragon 1, which only carried cargo and has been retired, and the Dragon 2, which carries astronauts and cargo to space.
A third variant, Dragon XL, has been in development as part of NASA's Lunar Gateway project, but it's not yet operational.
Dragon XL would be capable of carrying cargo to a new base on the moon. It's unknown if the project will be cancelled as part of Musk's declaration to decommission the Dragon capsules.
Earlier on Thursday Musk agreed with a posting on X that Trump should be impeached and replaced with 40-year-old Vice President J.D. Vance amid their fiery falling out.
X User Ian Miles Cheong wrote: 'President vs Elon. Who wins? My money's on Elon. Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him.'
'Yes,' Musk responded.
He also predicted that Trump's tariff policy would create economic turmoil.
'The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year,' Musk said.
The impeachment call comes after Musk made the eye-popping claim that the president is 'in the Epstein files'.
The spectacular fallout between Trump and Musk - who were political allies for a little less than a year - started in recent weeks when the billionaire started resisting Republicans' 'big, beautiful bill,' arguing that the spending wiped out DOGE's cost-cutting efforts.
Then, earlier in the day when Trump was supposed to be hosting the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office he was asked about Musk's recent criticism. From there, the dam broke.
'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more, I was surprised,' Trump told reporters.
The president suggested that Musk was angry - not over the bill ballooning the deficit - but because the Trump administration has pulled back on electric vehicle mandates, which negatively impacted Tesla, and replaced the Musk-approved nominee to lead NASA, which could hinder SpaceX 's government contracts.
'And you know, Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles, and they're having a hard time the electric vehicles and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,' Trump said. 'I know that disburbed him.'
Over the weekend, Trump pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.
Isaacman had worked alongside Musk at SpaceX.
'He recommended somebody that I guess he knew very well, I'm sure he respected him, to run NASA and I didn't think it was appropriate and he happened to be a Democrat, like totally Democrat,' Trump continued. 'We won, we get certain privileges and one of the privileges is we don't have to appoint a Democrat.'
Musk posted to X as Trump's Q&A with reporters was ongoing.
'Whatever,' the billionaire wrote.
'Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,' he advised.
'In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that [is] both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!' Musk continued. 'Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.'
The spat quickly turned personal with Musk then posting that Trump would have lost the 2024 election had it not been for the world's richest man - him.
Elon Musk objected to President Donald Trump's claim that Trump would have won Pennsylvania - and the 2024 election - without the help from the world's richest man. 'Such ingratitude,' Musk commented
Musk had publicly endorsed Trump on the heels of the July 13th assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania and poured around $290 million of his fortune into the Republican's campaign.
The billionaire also joined Trump on the campaign trail when he returned to the site of the Butler shooting in early October, a month before Election Day.
Trump said in the Oval that he likely still would have won Pennsylvania without Musk's help and because Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris didn't choose the state's governor, Josh Shapiro, to be her running mate.
Even with Shapiro on the ticket, Trump claimed, 'I would have won Pennsylvania, I would have won by a lot.'
Musk said that was laughable.
'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk claimed.
'Such ingratitude,' the billionaire added.
The 53-year-old Musk also asserted he had more staying power than the 78-year-old president.
'Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years,' Musk said Thursday afternoon, responding to a post from MAGA agitator Laura Loomer.
Loomer said she was reporting from Capitol Hill and that Republican lawmakers were trying to determine if it was better to side with Trump or Musk.
After his meeting with Merz, Trump continued to throw punches online.
Trump asserted that he had asked Musk to leave his administration and said the billionaire went 'CRAZY!'
'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!' Trump wrote.
The president then threatened to pull SpaceX and Tesla's government contracts.
'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!' Trump wrote.
Musk then taunted Trump to act.
'This just gets better and better,' he wrote. 'Go ahead, make my day …'
In a follow-up post, Musk said he would 'begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.'
The Dragon is how NASA astronauts currently travel to the International Space Station - and how supplies make it there.
As the fight continued, Tesla shares plummeted.
Anti-semitic rapper Kanye West even got involved.
'Broooos please noooooo. We love you both so much,' West wrote.
And Musk threw the Epstein bomb.
'@RealDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,' Musk wrote. 'Have a nice day, DJT!'
Jeffrey Epstein is a serial child sex offender who died in prison in 2019.
Trump pledged to release the files related to Epstein, with Attorney General Pam Bondi releasing some pages in February, but most of that information was already in the public domain.
'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out,' Musk added.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
Trump didn't directly respond to Musk's Epstein charge, instead posting what amounted to a shrug on Truth Social, while also continuing to back the 'big, beautiful bill.'
'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,' Trump wrote. 'This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.'
Later he ignored shouted questions from reporters on Musk's Epstein charge as he hosted the National Fraternal Order of Police executive board in the State Dining Room.
Asked for comment, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Mail 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.'
'The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again,' Leavitt added.
Trump didn't directly respond to Musk's Epstein charge, instead posting what amounted to a shrug on Truth Social, while also continuing to back the 'big, beautiful bill.'
'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,' Trump wrote. 'This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.'
Later he ignored shouted questions from reporters on Musk's Epstein charge as he hosted the National Fraternal Order of Police executive board in the State Dining Room.
A source familiar pointed out to the Daily Mail that 'everyone knows President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Palm Beach Golf Club.'
'The Administration itself released Epstein files with the President's name included. This is not a new surprise Elon is uncovering. Everyone already knew this,' the source continued.
The source also mused, 'If Elon truly thought the President was more deeply involved with Epstein, why did he hangout with him for 6 months and say he "loves him as much as a straight man can love a straight man?"'
It was less than a week ago that Trump gave Musk a golden key and a DOGE send-off from the Oval Office.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Hamlin undeterred by ruling siding with NASCAR in lawsuit filed by Jordan-owned 23XI and Front Row
Denny Hamlin is unfazed that a three-judge federal appellate panel vacated an injunction that required NASCAR to recognize 23XI, which he owns with Michael Jordan, and Front Row as chartered teams as part of an antitrust lawsuit. 'That's just such a small part of the entire litigation,' Hamlin said Saturday, a day ahead of the FireKeepers Casino 400. "I'm not deterred at all. We're in good shape.' Hamlin said Jordan feels the same way. 'He just remains very confident, just like I do,' Hamiln said. NASCAR has not commented on the latest ruling. 23XI and Front Row sued NASCAR late last year after refusing to sign new agreements on charter renewals. They asked for a temporary injunction that would recognize them as chartered teams for this season, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday ruled in NASCAR's favor. 'We're looking at all options right now,' Hamlin said. The teams, each winless this year, said they needed the injunction because the current charter agreement prohibits them from suing NASCAR. 23XI also argued it would be harmed because Tyler Reddick's contract would have made him a free agent if the team could not guarantee him a charter-protected car. Hamlin insisted he's not worried about losing drivers because of the uncertainty. 'I'm not focused on that particularly right this second,' he said. Reddick, who was last year's regular-season champion and competed for the Cup title in November, enters the race Sunday at Michigan ranked sixth in the Cup Series standings. The charter system is similar to franchises in other sports, but the charters are revocable by NASCAR and have expiration dates. The six teams may have to compete as 'open' cars and would have to qualify on speed each week to make the race and would receive a fraction of the money. Without a charter, Hamlin said it would cost the teams 'tens of millions,' to run three cars. 'We're committed to run this season open if we have to,' he said. 'We're going to race and fulfill all of our commitments no matter what. We're here to race. Our team is going to be here for the long haul and we're confident of that.' The antitrust case isn't scheduled to be heard until December. NASCAR has not said what it would do with the six charters held by the two organizations if they are returned to the sanctioning body. There are 36 chartered cars for a 40-car field. 'We feel like facts were on our side,' Hamlin said. 'I think if you listen to the judges, even they mentioned that we might be in pretty good shape.' ___
The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Protesters clash with police at federal detention centre after LA Ice raids
At least 45 people were arrested in Los Angeles on Saturday as people demonstrated against coordinated raids throughout the city by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers, said the rights group Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. Ice agents were seen using pepper spray and smoke grenades to disperse the protesters. Federal immigration authorities have been ramping up arrests across the country to fulfil the president's promise of mass deportations
The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in the US, charged with human smuggling as attorneys vow ongoing fight
To hear the Trump administration tell it, Kilmar Abrego Garcia smuggled thousands of people across the country who were living in the U.S. illegally, including members of the violent MS-13 gang, long before his mistaken deportation to El Salvador. In allegations made public nearly three months after his removal, U.S. officials say Abrego Garcia abused the women he transported, while a co-conspirator alleged he participated in a gang-related killing in his native El Salvador. Abrego Garcia's wife and lawyers offer a much different story. They say the now 29-year-old had as a teenager fled local gangs that terrorized his family in El Salvador for a life in Maryland. He found work in construction, got married and was raising three children with disabilities before he was mistakenly deported in March. The fight that became a political flashpoint in the administration's stepped-up immigration enforcement now returns to the U.S. court system, where Abrego Garcia appeared Friday after being returned from El Salvador. He faces new charges related to a large human smuggling operation and is in federal custody in Tennessee. Attorney General Pam Bondi called Abrego Garcia 'a smuggler of humans and children and women' in announcing the unsealing of a grand jury indictment. His lawyers say a jury won't believe the 'preposterous' allegations. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who visited Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, said his return to the U.S. was long overdue. 'As I have repeatedly said, this is not about the man, it's about his constitutional rights – and the rights of all," the Maryland Democrat said in a statement. "The Administration will now have to make its case in the court of law, as it should have all along.' Gang threats in El Salvador Abrego Garcia grew up in El Salvador's capital city, San Salvador, according to court documents filed in U.S. immigration court in 2019. His father was a former police officer. His mother, Cecilia, sold pupusas, flat tortilla pouches that hold steaming blends of cheese, beans or pork. The entire family, including his two sisters and brother, ran the business from home, court records state. 'Everyone in the town knew to get their pupusas from 'Pupuseria Cecilia,'' his lawyers wrote. A local gang, Barrio 18, began extorting the family for 'rent money' and threatened to kill his brother Cesar — or force him into their gang — if they weren't paid, court documents state. The family complied but eventually sent Cesar to the U.S. Barrio 18 similarly targeted Abrego Garcia, court records state. When he was 12, the gang threatened to take him away until his father paid them. The family moved but the gang threatened to rape and kill Abrego Garcia's sisters, court records state. The family closed the business, moved again, and eventually sent Abrego Garcia to the U.S. The family never went to the authorities because of rampant police corruption, according to court filings. The gang continued to harass the family in Guatemala, which borders El Salvador. Life in the U.S. Abrego Garcia fled to the U.S. illegally around 2011, the year he turned 16, according to documents in his immigration case. He joined Cesar, now a U.S. citizen, in Maryland and found construction work. About five years later, Abrego Garcia met Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen, the records say. In 2018, after she learned she was pregnant, he moved in with her and her two children. They lived in Prince George's County, just outside Washington. In March 2019, Abrego Garcia went to a Home Depot seeking work as a laborer when he and three other men were detained by local police, court records say. They were suspected of being in MS-13 based on tattoos and clothing. A criminal informant told police that Abrego Garcia was in MS-13, court records state but Prince George's County Police did not charge the men. The department said this year it had no further interactions with Abrego Garcia or 'any new intelligence' on him. Abrego Garcia has denied being in MS-13. Although they did not charge him, local police turned Abrego Garcia over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He told a U.S. immigration judge that he would seek asylum and asked to be released because Vasquez Sura was pregnant, according to his immigration case. The Department of Homeland Security alleged Abrego Garcia was a gang member based on the county police's information, according to the case. The immigration judge kept Abrego Garcia in jail as his case continued, the records show. Abrego Garcia later married Vasquez Sura in a Maryland detention center, according to court filings. She gave birth while he was still in jail. In October 2019, an immigration judge denied Abrego Garcia's asylum request but granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador because of a 'well-founded fear' of gang persecution, according to his case. He was released; ICE did not appeal. Abrego Garcia checked in with ICE yearly while Homeland Security issued him a work permit, his attorneys said in court filings. He joined a union and was employed full time as a sheet metal apprentice. In 2021, Vasquez Sura filed a temporary protection order against Abrego Garcia, stating he punched, scratched and ripped off her shirt during an argument. The case was dismissed weeks later, according to court records. Vasquez Sura said in a statement, after the document's release by the Trump administration, that the couple had worked things out 'privately as a family, including by going to counseling.' 'After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution after a disagreement with Kilmar,' she stated. She added that 'Kilmar has always been a loving partner and father, and I will continue to stand by him." A traffic stop in Tennessee In 2022, according to a report released by the Trump administration, Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for speeding. The vehicle had eight other people and no luggage, prompting an officer to suspect him of human trafficking, the report stated. Abrego Garcia said he was driving them from Texas to Maryland for construction work, the report stated. No citations were issued. Abrego Garcia's wife said in a statement in April that he sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites, 'so it's entirely plausible he would have been pulled over while driving with others in the vehicle. He was not charged with any crime or cited for any wrongdoing.' The Tennessee Highway Patrol released video body camera footage this May of the 2022 traffic stop. It shows a calm and friendly exchange between officers and Abrego Garcia as well as the officers discussing among themselves their suspicions of human trafficking before sending him on his way. One of the officers said: 'He's hauling these people for money.' Another said he had $1,400 in an envelope. An attorney for Abrego Garcia, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said in a statement after the release that he saw no evidence of a crime in the footage. Mistaken deportation and new charges Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March despite the U.S. immigration judge's order. For nearly three months, his attorneys have fought for his return in a federal court in Maryland. The Trump administration described the mistaken removal as 'an administrative error' but insisted he was in MS-13. His abrupt release from El Salvador closes one chapter and opens another in the months-long standoff. The charges he faces stem from the 2022 vehicle stop in Tennessee but the human smuggling indictment lays out a string of allegations that date back to 2016 but are only being disclosed now. A co-conspirator also alleged that Abrego Garcia participated in the killing of a gang member's mother in El Salvador, prosecutors wrote in papers urging the judge to keep him behind bars while he awaits trial. The indictment does not charge him in connection with that allegation. 'This is what American justice looks like,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said in announcing Abrego Garcia's return and the unsealing of a grand jury indictment. Abrego Garcia's attorney disagreed. "There's no way a jury is going to see the evidence and agree that this sheet metal worker is the leader of an international MS-13 smuggling conspiracy,' attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said.
