Are Tensions Between Trump and Musk Cooling Down?

Bloomberg

2 days ago

00:00
Now, as you say, it's an extraordinary public blowup between them and some very personal things said against each other. But just as quickly, it seems perhaps there are moves already to to patch things up. We can see from Elon Musk's posts in the wee hours, Yes, he's open to doing so, agreeing with people posting on social media. Bill Ackman among them saying, guys, you need to cool this down. You know, Donald Trump saying to Politico, you know, it's going very well in his relationship with musk and politico reporting. In fact, the two men are due to talk on friday. At some point, the White House is arranging that conversation. So that kind of explosive display of anger at each other on social media, trading barbs, perhaps very quickly, followed by an effort to cool things down. And this is kind of a sign of the relationship that they have. We've seen frustrations bubble up before, but there's always been a very careful effort to keep that under wraps behind the scenes. They've disagreed on other things before. Aside from this big tax bill that Donald Trump is trying to get through the Senate in the U.S. It's just that that was a moment where everything burst into the open. The question is, even if they cool things down, you know, is the relationship repaired or is this just a temporary fix? And to that point, Ros, I mean, there was some almost kind of taking bets at the start of this relationship between Trump and Musk as to how long it would last. Some suggesting maybe it's going to be six months, some eight months. So to some extent it's not a surprise that the relationship is breaking down, given that given the nature of both individuals. And yet to see it in that public spotlight was, as you say, remarkable. What does it mean? What are the implications in terms of Trump standing? What does it mean in terms of the Republican Party? What does it mean in terms of in terms of the bill that Trump is so clearly keen to get to get across the line? Well, as you say, some people said it was a matter of time. You've got two very big egos involved here, but it comes at a very delicate time for both of them, arguably, particularly Donald Trump. He's trying everything to get this bill through. He's personally spending hours on the phone lobbying Republicans, saying we've got to get this done. And it faces a very tricky path in the Senate. And if this bill gets amended in any way whatsoever, it has to go back to the House for further review. Said he's wanting to get this done very quickly. He's up against a lot. And for Republicans, there are key questions here of loyalties to Trump or to Musk, because obviously Donald Trump is saying to them, you need to listen to me. But Elon Musk is the one with the money when it comes to, you know, the midterm elections, which are really not that far away. And a lot of his campaign money could help them individually. So how they patch this up or whether they patch this up has a real impact potentially on the bill itself, but also for individual Republicans with one eye very closely, no doubt already on those midterms.