Elon Musk says 'Trump used me so much' as feud continues to escalate
Elon Musk has accused Donald Trump of "using" him for political gain as their intense feud reignites.
The pair's public fallout reached a boiling point last month as Musk described Trump's "big, beautiful" bill as "pork-filled" and a "disgusting abomination", pledging to start a third party if it passed. On Saturday, just a day after Trump signed the spending package into law, Musk made good on that promise as he vowed to create the "America Party."
'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,' Musk wrote on X. 'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.'
READ MORE: Melania seen 'trying to leave' Trump's rambling balcony speech as viewers spot fidgeting
In response, Trump's treasury secretary Scott Bessent, said on Sunday that Musk should focus on running his countries as he accused the Tesla CEO of being unpopular.
Bessent, who Musk regularly clashed with during his time in the White House, told CNN's State of the Union: "The principals of DOGE were very popular, I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not."
Musk fired back at Bessent on X, calling him a "political science major who can't even do math." The Space X founder then claimed that his popularity is what drew Trump to him.
"The polling for me was very positive a year ago, which is why Trump used me so much," he wrote. Shortly after Musk announced his new political venture, the president took to Truth Social to issue a scathing critique of his former "first buddy", calling him a "train wreck" and accusing him of going "off the rails."
"I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks," Trump declared. "He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them."
"The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION and CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds," Trump continued. "Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running 'machine,' that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country.
"It is a Great Bill, but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time," Trump added. "I have been strongly opposed to that from the very beginning."
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Irish Times
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