Trump says relationship over with Musk; warns him of ‘serious consequences' about supporting Democrats

The Hindu

6 hours ago

President Donald Trump is not backing off his battle with Elon Musk, saying Saturday (June 7, 2025) that he has no desire to repair their relationship and warning that his former ally and campaign benefactor could face 'serious consequences' if he tries to help Democrats in upcoming elections.
Mr Trump told NBC's Kristen Welker in a phone interview that he has no plans to make up with Mr Musk. Asked specifically if he thought his relationship with the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is over, Mr Trump responded, 'I would assume so, yeah.'
'I'm too busy doing other things,' Mr Trump continued. 'You know, I won an election in a landslide. I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened, I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him.'
The President also issued a warning amid chatter that Mr Musk could back Democratic lawmakers and candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.
'If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that,' Mr Trump told NBC, though he declined to share what those consequences would be. Mr Musk's businesses have many lucrative federal contracts.
The President's latest comments suggest Mr Musk is moving from close ally to a potential new target for Mr Trump, who has aggressively wielded the powers of his office to crack down on critics and punish perceived enemies. As a major government contractor, Mr Musk's businesses could be particularly vulnerable to retribution. Mr Trump has already threatened to cut Mr Musk's contracts, calling it an easy way to save money.
The dramatic rupture between the President and the world's richest man began this week with Mr Musk's public criticism of Mr Trump's 'big beautiful bill' pending on Capitol Hill. Mr Musk has warned that the bill will increase the federal deficit and called it a 'disgusting abomination.'
Mr Trump criticised Mr Musk in the Oval Office, and before long, he and Mr Musk began trading bitterly personal attacks on social media, sending the White House and GOP congressional leaders scrambling to assess the fallout.
As the back-and-forth intensified, Mr Musk suggested Mr Trump should be impeached and claimed without evidence that the government was concealing information about the President's association with infamous paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Mr Musk appeared by Saturday (June 7, 2025) morning to have deleted his posts about Epstein.
Vice-President J.D. Vance in an interview tried to downplay the feud. He said Mr Musk was making a 'huge mistake' going after Mr Trump but called him an 'emotional guy' getting frustrated.
'I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear,' Mr Vance said.
Mr Vance called Mr Musk an 'incredible entrepreneur,' and said that Mr Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, which sought to cut government spending and laid off or pushed out thousands of workers, was 'really good.'
Mr Vance made the comments in an interview with 'manosphere' comedian Theo Von, who last month joked about snorting drugs off a mixed-race baby and the sexuality of men in the U.S. Navy when he opened for Mr Trump at a military base in Qatar.
The Vance interview was taped Thursday as Mr Musk's posts were unfurling on X, the social media network the billionaire owns.
During the interview, Mr Von showed the Vice-President Mr Musk's claim that Mr Trump's administration hasn't released all the records related to Epstein because Mr Trump is mentioned in them.
Mr Vance responded to that, saying, 'Absolutely not. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein.'
'This stuff is just not helpful,' Mr Vance said in response to another post shared by Mr Musk calling for Mr Trump to be impeached and replaced with Mr Vance. 'It's totally insane. The president is doing a good job.'
Mr Vance also defended the bill that has drawn Mr Musk's ire, and said its central goal was not to cut spending but to extend the 2017 tax cuts approved in Mr Trump's first term.
The bill would slash spending and taxes but also leave some 10.9 million more people without health insurance and spike deficits by $2.4 trillion over the decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
'It's a good bill,' Mr Vance said. 'It's not a perfect bill.'
The interview was taped in Nashville at a restaurant owned by musician Kid Rock, a Trump ally.