Trump and Musk's bromance ends after personal attacks over criticism of tax bill
Trump and Musk's bromance ends after personal attacks over criticism of tax bill 'Elon and I had a great relationship,' President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on June 5. 'I don't know if we will anymore.'
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'Kill the bill': Musk urges lawmakers to stop Trump's tax cut bill
Elon Musk blasted President Trump's new tax bill as a 'disgusting abomination,' urging millions of followers to lobby lawmakers to 'kill the bill.'
WASHINGTON – So much for the overnight White House stays, the rides on Air Force One and the glowing mutual praise.
An all-out feud erupted between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, ending their onetime alliance after Trump hit back at the mounting criticism the world's richest man has leveled against the president's signature tax and policy bill.
Trump said on June 5 he was "very disappointed" with Musk and signaled his close relationship with the former top White House adviser was over as he publicly addressed Musk's efforts to kill his so-called "big, beautiful bill."
"Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I don't know if we will anymore."
Musk quickly fired back, saying Trump wouldn't have won a second term were it not for the quarter of a million dollars in campaign cash he pumped into his 2024 campaign.
"Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk said in a post on X, the social media company he owns. "Such gratitude."
Trump's remarks came in response to a question from a reporter as he sat next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for a bilateral meeting.
"I'm very disappointed with Elon. I helped Elon a lot," Trump said during a lengthy answer.
For days, Trump had remained silent as Musk called Trump's reconciliation bill "a disgusting abomination" and later urged his social media followers to lobby their representatives to "kill the bill." Musk has objected to the deficit implications of the legislation ‒ fiscal concerns that the White House rejects.
The bill, which cleared the House last month with only Republican support, looks to cement Trump's domestic agenda by extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts, implementing new tax breaks for tipped wages and overtime, overhauling Medicaid and food stamps, beefing up border security and significantly increasing military spending. Trump wants Senate approval by July 4.
Trump said he'd "always liked Elon" and noted Musk's criticism hadn't been directed at him but rather the bill. "I'd rather have him criticize me than the bill, because the bill is incredible," Trump said.
Trump later accused Musk of opposing the legislation because it would end a $7,500 consumer tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles, a policy of former President Joe Biden that has benefited electric car companies like Musk's Tesla.
"I'm vey disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than anybody sitting here," Trump said. "He had no problem with it. All of a sudden, he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to cut the EV mandate."
'Whatever,' Musk tells Trump
More: Trump overpowers Musk's attacks on mega tax bill with blizzard of orders
Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, was quick to respond. "Whatever," he said on X. "Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."
Musk added: "In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!"
He also disputed Trump's assertion that Musk was kept abreast of the bill's details. "False," Musk said. "This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!"
Trump: 'I think he misses the place'
Musk left the White House last week after leading the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency during the first four months of Trump's second term. Although Musk first voiced criticism of Trump's bill before his exit, Trump had seemed to smooth things over when he welcomed him to the Oval Office for a friendly send-off news conference on May 30.
Yet the gap between Musk and the White House had started to widen.
Musk, before his White House departure, asked for his special government employee status to be extended beyond 130 days to allow him to continue to lead DOGE, but the White House declined, a source told USA TODAY.
Last weekend, Musk expressed disappointment after Trump withdrew his nominee for administrator of NASA, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire commercial astronaut with close ties to Musk.
Then came Musk's attacks on Trump's legislation, jeopardizing the fate of legislation that carries out Trump's domestic agenda. Musk's criticism has given Republican senators the courage to voice their own fiscal concerns with the bill's price tag.
"I'll be honest," Trump said of Musk. "I think he misses the place. I think he got out there, and, all of a sudden, he wasn't in this beautiful Oval Office."
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
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