Trump and Musk's Unlikely Alliance Breaks Down in Rapid and Public Fashion
It was always the most unlikely of alliances.
Last year, two mercurial billionaires formed a partnership and vowed to drive the country in a new direction. Donald Trump had the political power. Elon Musk had the money and social media might.
But on Thursday, their union dissolved in remarkably public and rapid fashion, with the two men attacking each other over matters both significant and petty.
Beyond the immediate drama, the breakup of the president and the world's richest man upended one of the most powerful dynamics shaping Mr. Trump's second term.
Their dispute began days ago over the president's signature domestic policy bill, which Mr. Musk had panned as a 'disgusting abomination.' But it escalated uncontrollably on Thursday into a fight over who deserved more credit for Mr. Trump's election victory, why Mr. Musk had not covered up his black eye with makeup during an Oval Office appearance last week and why Mr. Trump had abruptly dropped his support for a Musk associate nominated to lead NASA.
The sparring swiftly devolved into threats on their respective social media platforms, as Mr. Trump threatened to cut the billions in dollars in federal government contracts with Mr. Musk's companies. For his part, Mr. Musk unleashed a tirade of attacks on the man he had once lavishly praised. He suggested it might be time to create a new political party, claimed there were references to Mr. Trump in government documents about the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and indicated his support for a post calling for the president's impeachment.
transcript
Trump and Musk Sling Personal Attacks
I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot. Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore. I was surprised — because you were here. Everybody in this room practically was here, as we had a wonderful sendoff. He said wonderful things about me. You couldn't have nicer — said the best things. Elon's upset because we took the E.V. 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. And Elon knew this from the beginning. He knew it for a long time ago. That's been in there, that's been — I would say JD — that hasn't changed. That's been right from the beginning.
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