Donald Trump's astonishing seven-word comeback when grilled about Elon Musk spat
Donald Trump and Elon Musk have angrily posted about each other on social media in the past 24 hours but there are signs the two billionaires are on the verge of a truce
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 crooked 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.
From tax cuts to immigration enforcement, Mr Trump and Mr Musk quarrelled over issues impacting millions across the US. It become so ugly Stephen K Bannon, one of Mr Musk's most vocal critics, waded into the feud, urging the President to boot the tech giant out of the country.
Mr Trump's bonkers response to the question by the POLITICO reporter offered no clarity on the spat. Instead, it gave the world leader the opportunity to waffle about one of his favourite subjects - himself.
"Oh it's okay... The numbers (favorability ratings) are through the roof, the highest polls I've ever had and I have to go," the President told the publication today. It is the first time Mr Trump has spoken publicly about the blow-up, which played out on X (Twitter).
White House aides have reportedly worked to persuade the world leader to temper his public criticism of Mr Musk to avoid escalation. A call has been scheduled today with Mr Musk and Mr Trump, it is understood. The President had previously posted on TruthSocial: "I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago."
But when Mr Bannon, a former advisor of the Republican, bumbled into the row on Thursday, he described Mr Musk as "an illegal alien". The 71-year-old media executive said: "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." Mr Trump has yet to publicly respond to Mr Bannon's remarks.
Mr Musk quit his role as advisor, after previously admitting he "probably spent a bit too much time on politics". The comment came during an interview after another SpaceX rocket exploded on a test launch in Texas, US.
But despite stepping down, Mr Musk continues to be embroiled in a battle with his former friend. Mr Bannon's scathing take increases the pressure on the President as his ally referred to Mr Musk's heritage. The wealthy businessman was born in Pretoria, South Africa, emigrated in 1989 to Canada and then moved to California in 1997. However, he became an American citizen in 2002, the year in which he founded SpaceX.
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And any possibility of a truce, Washington and Silicon Valley insiders predicted yesterday, has disappeared after Musk effectively pressed the nuclear button. Although he didn't precisely spell out the accusation, Musk was clearly implying that the US government was concealing the truth about Trump's dealings with the notorious late financier and paedophile. It is no secret that Trump associated with Epstein, even if he has been reluctant to admit it. They moved in the same moneyed social circles in Palm Beach, Florida, from the late 1980s until 2004, when they fell out spectacularly over a property deal. Along with the likes of Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton, Trump is one among many powerful people known to have associated with Epstein and who have been mentioned in court documents related to the financier's decades of sexual abuse. Before he was re-elected President last November, Trump said he would have 'no problem' releasing the so-called Epstein Files, the remaining documents from the major FBI investigation into the multi-millionaire, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 ahead of his trial on sex-trafficking charges. While critics have challenged Trump's initial insistence that he barely knew Epstein – pointing out that they were most certainly friends (a fact Trump has since acknowledged) – there has been no evidence that the future President was complicit in Epstein's crimes. However, that hasn't prevented Trump's name being mentioned in some of the conspiracy theories swirling for months over why the US government has still not released the files. Predictably, within hours of Musk dropping his 'really big bomb', some of his 220 million followers on X were dutifully stirring the pot by circulating old evidence of the pre-scandal Trump-Epstein friendship. Musk retweeted several examples, adding a raised-eyebrow emoji. They included a 1992 TV news report on a party at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach resort and home, in which Epstein and the future President can be seen talking animatedly with each other as they stand watching a crowd of dancing cheerleaders for the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, two American football teams. They point to some of the women and Trump, gesturing to one, appears to say: 'Look at her back there, she's hot'. He then whispers in the financier's ear, leading Epstein to double over in laughter. Musk also retweeted a passage from a 2002 magazine article about Epstein in which Trump said: 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. 'It is even said he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.' 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