The Day That Trump and Musk Torched Their Partnership

Hindustan Times

a day ago

President Trump and Elon Musk at the White House in March.WASHINGTON—This is exactly what President Trump and his advisers were trying to avoid.
Just six days ago, senior Trump aides swallowed their irritation with Elon Musk and planned a chummy Oval Office send-off for him. They briefed the president on allegations of Musk's drug use so Trump would be ready to defend the billionaire if reporters raised the issue at his goodbye event, aides said.
As late as Wednesday evening, Trump played down any conflicts with Musk in a meeting with Republican senators, according to people familiar with his remarks, even though the billionaire had spent the past few days disparaging the president's legislative agenda. Over the weekend, after Trump dumped Musk's ally as the head of NASA, the president made it clear to associates that he wasn't planning a high-profile confrontation with his former adviser, according to a person who talked to the president.
That goodwill disappeared on Thursday.
Thirteen minutes into an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump laid out his frustrations with Musk, marking the start of a whirlwind day in which two of the world's most powerful men went from friends to foes.
In response, Musk, the world's richest man, floated starting a new political party, suggested that Trump should be impeached, argued that Trump's tariffs would trigger a recession and pledged to decommission a valuable piece of space equipment on which the government relies. He also alleged that Trump's name appears in documents stemming from a federal investigation into convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, insinuating that Trump was in some way linked to his criminal behavior.
The extraordinary fight between Trump and Musk that rippled across the country threatens the new MAGA governing coalition that the president built and Musk funded. It puts a target on Musk's six companies, many of which are heavily regulated by the federal government. And it gives Democrats a rare moment of reprieve at a low point for the party. Shares of Tesla tumbled 14%, their worst day since 2020.
The Trump-Musk blowup was long predicted. Even people close to both men believed privately that their relationship was destined to implode. But the fast-paced, rat-a-tat escalation still came as a shock to a White House that has grown used to curveballs—and a president who often defended Musk as his aides grew frustrated.
White House officials and other allies of the president spent the day refreshing their social-media feeds, watching as the situation escalated and texting Musk's posts to each other.
'It was a matter of time before all this started, because two giant egos can't be there together,' said Marc Short, who was chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. 'It's hard to imagine seeing it collapsing as fast as it has, but you can't be surprised by this.'
When aides talked about Musk derisively in his final stretch at the White House, Trump was generally positive about him, even in private, a person who spoke to him said. The two of them clashed over personnel and tariffs. Trump listened to complaints about Musk from cabinet secretaries and occasionally flashed annoyance with him, but he was generally kind to Musk behind the scenes, aides said. Though Musk clashed with top Trump aides, he had largely smoothed over tensions by the time he departed.
'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,' said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 'The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.'
But Musk's frustrations are about more than the legislation. He has told associates he is angry about Trump's decision to withdraw the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a Musk ally, to run NASA.
During a meeting in the Oval Office dining room on Friday before Musk's send-off, Trump aide Sergio Gor gave Trump a file at the president's request about Isaacman's donations to Democrats. Musk defended Isaacman and tried to minimize the significance of the donations. But Trump said he wanted to pull the nomination, according to people familiar with the matter. The two then appeared together in front of television cameras, where Trump called Musk a friend and said he would continue advising him even after he left the White House.
The fissure has reverberated inside the White House. Musk's top aide, longtime Trump adviser Katie Miller, left the White House with him last week, according to people familiar with the matter, and now works with Musk. Katie Miller, who held the 'special government employee' designation, was with Musk at almost all times in the White House. She didn't respond to requests for comment.
Her husband, Stephen Miller, is one of Trump's most loyal and most visible aides. He has defended Trump's legislative agenda from Musk's broadsides in recent days and Musk unfollowed him on X this week. The Millers had spent extensive time with Musk, even outside the White House.
The public clash between Musk and Trump also jeopardizes the Department of Government Efficiency, the billionaire's trademark cost-cutting effort. DOGE affiliated staff, some of whom were responsible for pushing out thousands of federal workers, texted one another on Thursday about whether they would be fired next, according to administration officials.
The blowup Thursday caught top White House aides off guard.
Shortly before noon, Trump sat down in the Oval Office with Merz for a chat about predictable topics: trade, the NATO alliance and the war in Ukraine. It took about 13 minutes for the president to unload about his billionaire benefactor, expressing irritation that Musk had been critical of his legislative agenda as too costly.
It started gently. 'I've always liked Elon,' said Trump when asked about Musk's criticism of his 'big, beautiful bill.' 'I'd rather have Elon criticize me than the bill.'
But before long, Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore,' Trump said.
The president also suggested that Musk's help on the campaign trail made little difference to the outcome of the election. 'I think I would have won Pennsylvania anyway,' he said.
As Trump spoke about the swing state, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles nodded her head vigorously. It was a visual reminder of how Musk had deeply angered much of the West Wing staff, with Trump left as his main defender.
The fight moved to social media before the Oval Office event ended. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk wrote, adding, 'such ingratitude.'
Shortly before 2 p.m., Musk posted a poll on X asking his more than 200 million followers whether it was time to create a new political party that would better represent most of the country.
Within minutes, Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman who has flirted with running for president, posted on social media three check marks next to Musk's suggestion of starting a third party.
Steve Bannon, a Trump booster who is influential with the president's base, suggested on his podcast that Musk's immigration status should be investigated. Musk was born in South Africa.
'You're going to have a few of the tech bros and the crypto crowd stick with Elon because you have the cult of Elon. But MAGA will 100% back Trump. You aren't going to have a person in MAGA who will buy a Tesla,' Bannon said.
In response to a social-media post from a prominent conservative saying Republicans might have to choose sides between the two men, Musk wrote, '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…'
Even the mother of one of Musk's children weighed in. At 2:20 p.m. Ashley St. Clair, who has had a messy fight with Musk over paternity, asked the president on X if he needed help ending the relationship, tagging Trump and writing: 'lmk if u need any breakup advice.'
And by 2:37 p.m., Trump upped the ante. He posted on social media that 'the easiest way to save money' in the federal budget is to 'terminate' the government contracts that go to Musk's companies. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it,' Trump wrote.
He added in a separate post that Musk was 'wearing thin' and said the billionaire 'just went CRAZY' when Trump backed erasing benefits for electric vehicles in his megabill.
Musk responded to that by saying he would decommission the SpaceX craft that is used to take U.S. astronauts back and forth from the space station.
Musk was referring to files from a federal investigation into alleged sex trafficking and abuse by Epstein, the disgraced financier. Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019, had well-known connections to many in elite New York society, including Trump.
The FBI and Justice Department didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. One person familiar with Trump's relationship with Epstein said the administration has already released Epstein files that include Trump.
Trump was taken aback by Musk's escalation, according to his advisers. Trump told advisers he did not believe he was harsh about Musk in the Oval Office—and was surprised at how aggressive Musk became.
Trump's aides spent some of Thursday trying to figure out what Elon Musk's goal was. The president told advisers Musk was just being a child, according to a White House aide.
Around the same time, Trump walked into a White House meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police and made remarks. He ignored reporters' questions and didn't mention Musk. White House staff huddled with Trump in the early evening.
But as of late Thursday, the shiny red Tesla that Trump purchased during a high-profile photo op with Musk was still in its parking spot, just yards away from the Oval Office. White House aides joked Thursday evening that they hadn't decided what to do with the vehicle.
Write to Annie Linskey at [e-mail], Josh Dawsey at [e-mail] and Natalie Andrews at [e-mail]
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