Trump and Musk's bromance breakup has the internet in stitches
Donald Trump and Elon Musk 's relationship has officially imploded, captivating the internet as if it were a high-profile celebrity breakup.
'Normally a breakup this messy is on Bravo not C-Span,' wrote Ben Jacobs, a reporter at Politico, on X.
The president and Tesla founder developed a quick bond after the then-candidate was nearly assassinated on stage at a Pennsylvania rally last July. Musk spent approximately $250 million backing Trump's campaign and remained a close supporter throughout the 2024 election.
When Trump took office earlier this year, Musk was appointed head of the new administration's Department of Government Efficiency, a role that he held until last week.
But it wasn't until Musk's criticism of Trump's controversial so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' that set off an internet war that culminated on Thursday, June 5, with both men hurling strongly-worded accusations and criticisms at each other on social media.
Early in the day, Musk called on Trump to 'ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.'
Musk then claimed that without him, Trump would not have secured the presidency, setting off threats from Trump to cut off government contracts with Musk's companies, including Starlink and Space X.
'Time to drop the really big bomb,' Musk replied. '@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!'
Senator Scott Wiener was one among those who reacted to the allegation online, specifically calling out Trump supporters who have labeled him and other members of the LGBTQ community pedophiles.
'Let's see if the MAGAs who've been slandering me & other queer people as pedophiles for years say a damn thing about Trump's close association with an actual pedophilia network,' Wiener wrote on BlueSky.
Social media users were quick to turn the dramatic feud into comedic gold, with some cracking jokes about the irony of this drama unfolding at the beginning of Pride Month, likening their broken bond to the end of a romance. Both public figures have made homophobic statements and actions in the past.
Another irony: Trump threatening to rip away Musk's federal funding when they have been doing that to the arts and science communities for months.
'must be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to have federal funding that was promised to you for important work suddenly and arbitrarily ripped away,' Adam Sternberg, Culture editor for the New York Times, posted to Bluesky.
Amid the public spectacle, many couldn't help but mock the emotional nature of the feud, describing the bickering immature given their ages — Musk is 53, while Trump is 78.
The phrase 'THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING' quickly became a top trending topic on X.
'hey @realDonaldTrump lmk if u need any breakup advice,' Ashley St. Clair, the mother of one of Musk's children, wrote in a post.
In addition to firing off no less than 80 tweets and endorsing other users' posts criticizing the president, including one that called for Trump's impeachment, Musk also unfollowed several of the president's supporters, including Charlie Kirk and Stephen Miller.
'Today is a huge win for every woman concerned she acted like a psycho during her last breakup,' wrote comedian Ginny Hogan, the star of 'Regression.'
Poking fun at the misogyny that Trump and Musk have been known to display, MSNBC reporter Sam Stein wrote 'Are men maybe too emotional for positions of leadership?'
Some internet users even likened the drama to that between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar, who have infamously been feuding for about a year.
Mike Nelson, a political commentator with more than 25,000 followers, simply shared a photo of the moment Lamar name dropped Drake during his Super Bowl LIX performance of 'Not Like Us,' captioning the post 'Elon dropping that tweet.'
Even Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, weighed in on the feud. He has been a vocal supporter of both Trump and Musk in the past.
'Broooos please noooooo,' he wrote on X. 'We love you both so much.'
Trump and Musk continued their online brawl for several hours Thursday, each on their respective social media platforms — Trump on his Truth Social and Musk on X, which he owns.
The president was supposed to spend the day discussing an end to the Russia-Ukraine war with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
As the online spat hit fever pitch on Thursday, Musk paused his attacks on Trump briefly for a moment to take stock of the carnage.
'One thing's for sure,' Musk wrote on X, 'it ain't boring!'
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