Trump says Elon Musk will face 'very serious consequences' if he funds Democratic candidates
President Donald Trump on Saturday said there would be 'serious consequences' if tech mogul Elon Musk funds Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who vote in favor of the GOP's sweeping budget bill.
'If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that,' Trump told NBC News in a phone interview, but declined to share what those consequences would be.
'He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,' he added.
The president also said he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk after a feud between the two men erupted into public view earlier this week.
'No,' Trump said when asked if he had any wish to do so.
Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said, 'I would assume so, yeah.'
Trump's comments were the most extensive since he and Musk exchanged threats and attacks on X and Truth Social earlier this week. He added that he thought the Republican Party was more unified than ever after the two men fell out in front of the world.
Trump added that he has no plans to speak with Musk anytime soon, saying, 'I'm too busy doing other things' and 'I have no intention of speaking to him.'
Trump also accused Musk of being 'disrespectful to the office of the President.'
'I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President,' he added.
Musk on Thursday launched a barrage of posts on X against the president, including a now-deleted post highlighting the onetime links between the president and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
'That's called 'old news,' that's been old news, that has been talked about for years,' Trump said on Saturday. 'Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It's old news.'
For days, Musk had been critical of a GOP-led spending bill that the House passed last month.
In the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump responded to Musk's criticisms, telling reporters, 'I'm very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill. I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot.'
Shortly after those comments, Musk launched his flurry of posts, including promoting a post calling for Trump to be impeached and another where he said the president's tariff agenda would cause a recession later this year.
Trump on Thursday also responded with his own posts on Truth Social. In one post, he wrote, 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,' suggesting that Musk knew what was in the bill before it was passed.
He also wrote on Thursday, 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' referring to federal contracts with SpaceX.
On Saturday, Trump said that he hadn't given his suggestion about canceling Musk's companies' federal contracts any more thought.
'I'd be allowed to do that,' he said, 'but I have, I haven't given it any thought.'
He also cast doubt on the notion that Musk's opposition to the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' is jeopardizing the bill's chances of success, saying he's 'very confident' that the bill will pass the Senate before July 4.
'The Republican Party has never been united like this before. It's never been. It's actually more so than it was three days ago,' Trump said.
Musk contributed major financial support to Trump's presidential bid in 2024, spending over a quarter of a billion dollars to boost him in swing states last year. In the first months of the administration, Trump put Musk in charge of DOGE, where he oversaw mass layoffs of federal workers and the shuttering or partial closing of several agencies.
The feud, Trump said, has made lawmakers see the benefits of the bill.
'I think, actually, Elon brought out the strengths of the bill because people that weren't as focused started focusing on it, and they see how good it is,' Trump said. 'So in that sense, there was a big favor. But I think Elon, really, I think it's a shame that he's so depressed and so heartbroken.'
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Belfast Telegraph
an hour ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Trump says Elon Musk could face ‘serious consequences' if he backs Democrats
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The Herald Scotland
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- The Herald Scotland
Thousands of demonstrators march through Rome to call for end to war in Gaza
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Polling on Elon Musk glaring red light for Republicans
Even as Elon Musk and President Donald Trump no longer appear to be on speaking terms, the Tesla CEO's popularity among the Republican base is on the rise, according to polling. Trump and Musk's friendly relationship came to a dazzling end on Thursday as their disagreement over the Republicans' spending package went into full bloom. Musk called the bill, which significantly increases the deficit, a 'disgusting abomination.' Trump said his former friend had gone 'crazy' as Musk called for his impeachment and removal and claimed that the president is included in the 'Epstein Files.' He later deleted that post. While Musk isn't set to take over as the top figure in the Republican Party, he could create chaos surrounding the GOP's agenda and its plans for the 2026 midterms. Seventy-six percent of Republicans see Musk favorably, according to the most recent poll by The Economist and YouGov. Meanwhile, just 18 percent view him unfavorably. According to a poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College in late April, 77 percent of Republicans view Musk favorably. Since the start of the second Trump administration, Musk's popularity has been over 70 percent in most polls, Politico noted. The billionaire is more popular than House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, or almost anyone else in the GOP. Among Republicans, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance are more popular than Musk, with 87% and 80% approval, respectively, according to the Economist /YouGov survey. Musk's polling strength with the Republican base may partly be rooted in the fact that GOP voters believed in the mission of the Department of Government Efficiency from the outset, with almost 90 percent backing the notion that the government needs to be downsized. A recent Harvard-Harris poll found that about the same percentage of Republicans believe that DOGE has been effective at scaling back spending. Meanwhile, Democrats and independents are less likely to trust DOGE's accomplishments and are much less likely to view Musk favorably. Fifteen percent of Democrats and 34 percent of independents have favorable views of the billionaire. Musk may become a dangerous rival for the Republican Party, whose values align with the DOGE mission of cutting spending and reducing the deficit. Musk's wealth and social media influence as the owner of X may pose a threat to Trump and his party. This comes as Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he has 'no intention' of speaking to Musk or attempting to repair the relationship. 'I'm too busy doing other things,' said Trump. 'I have no intention of speaking to him.' 'I would assume so, yeah,' he said when asked if his relationship with Musk was over. 'I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President,' he added. He also issued a threat, saying that Musk will face 'very serious consequences' if he chooses to use his significant wealth to fund Democrats. Musk's opposition to the spending bill could lead the billionaire to fund challengers to Republicans who voted in favor of it. 'If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that,' Trump told NBC News.
