‘Musk has bad info': Mike Johnson downplays billionaire's warnings on Trump's ‘Big, Beautiful bill'
Speaker Mike Johnson firmly sided with US President Donald Trump in his fallout with Elon Musk, dismissing Musk's criticism of the GOP tax and budget bill. Johnson said the bill isn't crafted to 'please the richest man in the world' but to help working families. Despite Musk's public pushback and threats to fund opposition, Johnson says Republican offices have received 'almost no calls,' claiming the public sees the legislation as exciting and necessary.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Musk-Trump spat entangles MAGA prince JD Vance
Musk-Trump spat: The fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has ignited a MAGA civil war, with JD Vance caught in the crossfire. Musk's call for Trump's impeachment and suggestion of Vance as a replacement has reportedly fueled Trump's paranoia. Vance now walks a tightrope, balancing loyalty to Trump with his Silicon Valley connections, as Trump demands unwavering allegiance. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Vance, the MAGA prince in Trump's cross hairs Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Vance does a tightrope walk Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In a presidency already defined by internal volatility and external shockwaves, the recent falling out between President Donald Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk marks a significant rupture in the power structure. But the MAGA civil war , which flared up with an open spat between Trump and Musk on social media is still smouldering even though Musk has deleted the controversial posts he aimed at Trump. Vice-President JD Vance has emerged as a target in the Trump-Musk Michael Wolff, who has written several books on Trump, has said on the Daily Beast Podcast that Trump is getting paranoid after Musk turned Vance into an existential threat to his power. During their explosive spat last week, Musk called for Trump's impeachment and urged that Vance take his place. Wolff, the best-selling Trump biographer, suggests that Musk's demand struck fear into Trump and made him even more suspicious of is a fascinating political figure. Once a critic of Trump, he pivoted hard during his Senate run, aligning himself fully with the MAGA movement and earning Trump's coveted endorsement. His 'Hillbilly Elegy' background gives him working-class appeal, while his Silicon Valley experience (as a venture capitalist funded by Peter Thiel, a tech billionaire) makes him a rare bridge between conservative populism and tech-world Musk, Vance may represent the ideal vessel: loyal to Trumpism's nationalist message but not bound to Trump's personal baggage. This may explain why he would reportedly float Vance's name as a successor, or alternative, to says that Trump has always been ambivalent about Vance, an 'unlikely Republican' whose 'hardcore support is in the tech bro community". Trump chose Vance as his running mate, Wolff said, in part because Musk made his backing of Trump, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, conditional on that in Trump's world, loyalty is everything. The president would view any attempt to discuss succession as an act of betrayal. If Vance is perceived, rightly or wrongly, as fit to replace Trump, he risks being sidelined from Trump's inner circle. According to Wolff, Trump now wants to put Vance through a 'loyalty test' — a familiar ritual for those within the MAGA president's high-profile fallout with Musk -- a 'central pillar' of the tech world's incursion into right-wing politics -- leaves him vulnerable and will push him to scrutinize his Vice President ever more closely, Wolff said. 'He will set up what we will see as a set of tests that Vance is going to have to endure and pass,' Wolff told host Joanna Coles. '(Vance has) got to profess his absolute loyalty to Trump, or he will just be marginalized within the administration.'In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House Communications Director Steven Chung slammed Wolff as 'a blithering idiot who has been widely discredited due to his blatant lies and fabrications".'He is an imbecile of the highest order and his Trump Derangement Syndrome-addled brain has caused him to lead a miserable existence devoid of reality,' he continued. 'Nothing he says is the truth and he resorts to outlandish falsehoods in order to stay relevant since Father Time has passed him by 20 years ago.'For Vance, it's a tightrope walk. If he alienates Trump, he will be sidelined from everything important in Trump's inner circle. If he distances himself from Musk, he could lose his future prospects and a significant stream of Silicon Valley-aligned a podcast appearance with comedian Theo Von posted on Saturday, Vance said, 'First of all I'm the Vice President to President Trump; my loyalties are always going to be with the President. Elon is an incredible entrepreneur. I think DOGE was really good. The effort to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in our country was really good.''I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear. I hope it is,' Vance tried to downplay Musk's blistering attacks as an "emotional guy" who got frustrated. "Look, it happens to everybody," Vance said during the podcast. "I've flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours."Vance told Von that as Musk for days was calling on social media for Congress to kill Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," the president was "getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon, but I think has been very restrained because the president doesn't think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk." "I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine," he the interview, Von showed Vance Musk's claim that Trump's administration hasn't released all the records related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them. Vance responded to that, saying, "Absolutely not. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein." "This stuff is just not helpful," Vance said in response to another post shared by Musk calling for Trump to be impeached and replaced with Vance. "It's totally insane. The president is doing a good job."If Wolff's claims are accurate, the implications go beyond tabloid drama. Trump can increasingly feel lonely and cornered as he alienates his close aides. What's worse for him, he can also end up losing support of certain sections of his MAGA base as the emergence of Musk and Vance means there are now other popular conservative leaders too.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Can the Trump-Musk fallout be a blessing in disguise for Jeff Bezos? What the billionaire rift might mean for the space race
What began as a simmering tension between two of the world's most powerful men has exploded into a high-stakes public feud, and the unexpected beneficiary might just be Jeff Bezos . With Elon Musk and President Donald Trump trading sharp blows on social media—including Musk's startling allegation linking Trump to the Epstein files—the political fallout is no longer just personal. It could redraw the roadmap of American space dominance . Trouble in the Stars: NASA Caught in the Crossfire For years, Musk's SpaceX has been the backbone of America's modern space ambitions. From supplying the International Space Station to rescuing stranded astronauts, the company's Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon spacecraft have become indispensable to NASA. But after Trump publicly threatened to pull Musk's federal contracts—and Musk retaliated by briefly threatening to suspend crucial flights for NASA—the fragility of this dependency became glaringly apparent. Even though Musk later walked back his threat, the damage was done. The White House swiftly withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a known Musk ally, for NASA administrator. Now, senior officials at NASA and the Pentagon are pushing hard for competitors like Bezos's Blue Origin to fast-track their development programs. Bezos Steps into the Vacuum—Literally and Politically With Musk now on unstable ground in Washington, Bezos finds himself in an unusual position of opportunity. Once the target of Trump's verbal tirades due to his ownership of The Washington Post , Bezos has suddenly become a figure of presidential favor. Trump recently praised Bezos for 'trying to do a real job' with the paper, a notable shift in tone. Behind the scenes, Bezos's political strategy appears more calibrated. A $1 million donation to Trump's inauguration and a reported $40 million documentary deal with First Lady Melania Trump following a visit to Mar-A-Lago have quietly mended bridges. The Amazon founder's warmer relations with the White House could give him a decisive edge just when the government is actively looking for a Plan B to SpaceX. You Might Also Like: Is Elon Musk's feud with Donald Trump a teaser for his political ambitions? Rumors spiral as 'Muskians' weigh in — mars_erc20 (@mars_erc20) Blue Origin's Moment to Shine Meanwhile, Bezos's space firm is hitting its stride. Blue Origin recently unveiled a next-generation vehicle designed for lunar and Martian missions—an ambitious move that signals its readiness to rival SpaceX in deep-space ventures. Government interest is clearly shifting. Reports suggest that not just Blue Origin but also Rocket Lab and Stoke Space are being evaluated for their ability to step in where SpaceX might falter. And then there's Project Kuiper—Bezos's satellite internet project that could directly challenge Musk's Starlink. With SpaceX's government deals under a cloud, Kuiper could become the go-to option for federal connectivity solutions, marking a long-awaited opportunity for Bezos to chip away at Musk's dominance in low-Earth orbit. You Might Also Like: Donald Trump vs Elon Musk feud sparks meme fest online: From WrestleMania edits to Simpsons spoofs Jeff Bezos' modest Amazon salary for years was a strategic billion-dollar power play. The income he drew will surprise you
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Elon Musk Forced To Correct Grok After It Claims He "Took" Stephen Miller's Wife
Elon Musk was forced to correct the record on Sunday after his own artificial intelligence chatbot on X, Grok, falsely claimed that the Tesla CEO "took" Stephen Miller's wife. It all started after an X user posted a doctored screenshot that appeared to show an awkward exchange between Musk and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff. "We will take back America," Miller wrote, to which the billionaire replied, "Just like I took your wife". When the X user asked Grok to confirm if the post was real, the AI chatbot claimed it "likely existed and was deleted". The AI bot further claimed that the photoshopped screenshot's "engagement metrics and context align with Musk's behaviour, but its deletion means direct verification is unavailable." "While a fabricated screenshot is possible, the evidence leans toward the post being real but removed, consistent with Musk's pattern of deleting controversial posts," Grok's post concluded. Replying to the thread, Elon Musk clarified that it's fake. "No, it's fake ffs. I never posted this," he wrote. No, it's fake ffs 🤦♂️ I never posted this. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2025 Notably, Katie Miller is Stephen Miller's wife. She is a former spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security and Vice President Mike Pence. She had been an advisor for Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, she departed from the Trump administration after Musk made a dramatic exit by tearing down the president's "Big Beautiful Bill" on social media. Katie Miller played a key role in DOGE and was seen as a major force behind Musk's political messaging and media presence. Her brief time in the White House also meant she worked adjacent to her husband, who is a longtime Trump ally. According to reports, the Millers and Musk were close and spent time together outside of work. But this has changed now that the relationship between Musk and Trump has deteriorated. Amid this feud, Musk has reportedly unfollowed Stephen Miller on X. Trump-Musk feud The feud between Trump and Musk started when the US President told a reporter in the Oval Office that he was "disappointed in Elon" for coming against his "Big Beautiful Bill". Trump said that Musk is only looking out for himself and "went CRAZY" because the bill slashes electric vehicle credits, and he misses the access to the Oval Office. Reacting to this, Musk posted on X that Trump would've lost the election without him, and Democrats would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49. Musk also said that Trump is the Epstein files, which is the real reason why "they have not been made public". In another post, the billionaire stated that the "truth will come out" in the future.
