The Trump-Musk rift: All that you need to know
The last few days have seen the slow souring of a very public friendship between US President Donald Trump and his greatest political ally, billionaire
Elon Musk
.
A senior White House official recently told The Wall Street Journal that Trump was irked with Musk's open criticism of his 'one, big, beautiful bill.' The official emphasised how confused the president was given how closely they had worked together for four months.
But what caused all this?
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Musk's sudden departure from DOGE
On May 28, Musk took leave from his role as 'special government employee' at the department of
government efficiency
(DOGE), which aimed to eliminate 'waste, fraud and abuse' in government.
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Although the announcement was abrupt, it was after criticising Trump's bill. "I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be both," he told CBS News.
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While at DOGE, Musk drove significant budget cuts, leading to agency closures and thousands of job losses. This sparked public protests and concerns over whether a private sector leader should influence such government decisions. In addition, his EV company Tesla's shares began falling as well.
Revocation of Issacman's NASA nomination
And then, a few days ago, Trump withdrew private astronaut and payments entrepreneur Jared Isaacman's nomination to lead NASA.
'After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA,' Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social. 'I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space.'
This is interesting because Issacman was a candidate whom Musk personally lobbied for. In the All-In Podcast, Issacman went so far as to say that the timing of his nomination being revoked and Musk's departure from the White House wasn't 'much of a coincidence.'
Advisor to adversary
Soon after began the escalation and dramatic outbursts of Musk's criticism of Trump and especially his bill.
He called the bill a 'disgusting abomination' and 'pork-filled' when, just the prior week, he was leading DOGE.
'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk wrote on X. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.'
In his latest attack against Trump's bill, he said, 'Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL.'
He also went so far as to call it the 'Debt Slavery Bill.'
While social and news channels are rife with speculations, details on what has actually caused such a sudden rift are unclear. Trump has officially remained silent as well. What happens next remains to be seen.
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