Donald Trump threatens Elon Musk with 'serious consequences'
US President Donald Trump threatened his former advisor Elon Musk with 'serious consequences' on Saturday if the tech billionaire seeks to punish Republicans who vote for a controversial spending bill.
The comments by Trump to NBC News come after the relationship between the world's most powerful person and the world's richest imploded in bitter and spectacular fashion this week.
The blistering break-up – largely carried out on social media before a riveted public on Thursday – was ignited by Musk's harsh criticism of Trump's so-called 'big, beautiful' spending bill, which is currently before Congress.
Some lawmakers who were against the bill had called on Musk – one of the Republican Party's biggest financial backers in last year's presidential election – to fund primary challenges against Republicans who voted for the legislation.
'He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,' Trump, who also branded Musk 'disrespectful,' told NBC News on Saturday, without specifying what those consequences would be.
He also said he had 'no' desire to repair his relationship with the South Africa-born Tesla and SpaceX chief, and that he has 'no intention of speaking to him.'
Just last week, Trump gave Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But their relationship cracked within days as Elon Musk described as an 'abomination' the spending bill that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office.
Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe and from, there the row detonated, leaving Washington stunned.
With real political and economic risks to their falling out, both had appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, with Trump telling reporters 'I just wish him well,' and Musk responding on X: 'Likewise.'
Trump spoke to NBC on Saturday after Musk deleted one of the explosive allegations he had made during their fallout, linking the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Musk had alleged that the Republican leader is featured in unreleased government files on former associates of Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while he faced sex trafficking charges.
The Trump administration has acknowledged it is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, videos and investigative material that his 'MAGA' movement says will unmask public figures complicit in Epstein's crimes.
Trump was named in a trove of deposition and statements linked to Epstein that were unsealed by a New York judge in early 2024. The president has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.
'Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files,' Musk posted on his social media platform, X.
'That is the real reason they have not been made public.'
Elon Musk did not reveal which files he was talking about and offered no evidence for his claim.
He initially doubled down on the claim, writing in a follow-up message: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.'
However, he appeared to have deleted both tweets by Saturday morning.
Trump dismissed the claim as 'old news' in his comments to NBC on Saturday, adding: 'Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it.'
Supporters on the conspiratorial end of Trump's 'Make America Great Again' base allege that Epstein's associates had their roles in his crimes covered up by government officials and others.
They point the finger at Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, although not at Trump himself. No official source has ever confirmed that the president appears in any of the as yet unreleased material.
Trump knew and socialised with Epstein but has denied spending time on Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex.
'Terrific guy,' Trump, who was Epstein's neighbour in both Florida and New York, said in an early 2000s profile of the financier.
'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.'
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
EFF's Julius Malema is ‘quietly' singing ‘Hallelujah hosanna' over Trump-Musk fallout
EFF leader Julius Malema is 'quietly enjoying' the dramatic fallout between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the two figures who have long criticised him over his outspoken rhetoric, radical political views, including the controversial "Kill the Boer" chant. The two had previously accused Malema of inciting violence against white farmers. The red berets have denounced the claim. The latest split between the former allies who were once bound by political interests appears to align with Malema's long-standing opposition to both. Trump, in a televised Oval Office tirade, said he was "very disappointed" in Musk after the tech billionaire criticised his spending bill. Musk fired back on X (formerly Twitter), accusing Trump of ingratitude, claiming credit for his 2024 win, and even referencing unverified claims linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. The feud has political and economic fallout. Tesla shares dropped, Musk threatened to withdraw from a major US space programme, and Trump also hinted at pulling Musk's government contracts. The clash comes amid rising tensions between the US and South Africa. Tensions between the two countries have intensified since Trump's second term. Last month, during a high-level meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Trump administration in Washington, aimed at mending diplomatic relations between the two countries, Malema took centre stage. Trump played clips of Malema singing the 'Kill the boer' chant, which he argued incites violence against white farmers, but the red berets rubbished the claim. Trump called for Malema's arrest and denounced South Africa's land reform as 'land seizure.' IOL News previously reported that Malema has vowed to continue singing the controversial song despite strong criticism from Trump. The US also cut HIV/AIDS funding and granted refugee status to 49 white South Africans, claiming racial discrimination, which Pretoria has vehemently rejected. With Musk born in South Africa and now publicly clashing with Trump, Malema 'may' see this as more than political theatre, which is possibly a moment of vindication. Speaking with IOL News, Professor Theo Neethling, from the University of Free State's Department of Political Studies and Governance, said the fallout between Trump and Musk was 'long predictable.' 'The Trump-Musk fallout was long predictable, and even if the EFF delights in it, the fact remains that the United States conducts diplomatic relations with the South African government, not with the EFF…,' he said. 'The EFF is a relatively small party, as President Ramaphosa pointed out to Trump, and it is not relevant in South Africa's international relations.' Neethling emphasised that diplomatic relations are maintained between the US government and South African government, not with political outliers. 'The Trump administration also conducts its relations with the South African government, and what carries much more weight in the US than Elon Musk are the views and roles of top Republican voices like JD Vance, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. They will be decisive in the future US-South Africa relations.' Commenting on the developments of Trump and Musk clashing, Neethling said Malema will continue 'loudly in his rhetoric of African self-reliance,' but South Africa's Government of National Unity (GNU) understands the importance of maintaining relations with the US, which is the largest economy in the world. 'Around 600 American companies invest and do business here in South Africa and contribute to job creation,' he told IOL News. 'The Minister of Finance (Enoch Godongwana) also rightly pointed out recently that if the US does not want to do business with a country, it places that country on the periphery of international trade and investment.' According to Neethling, the Trump and Musk fallout will have no impact on future US and South Africa relations. 'Again, top Republican voices like JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz are what matter, as well as those of senior officials in the White House.' Meanwhile, independent political analyst Goodenough Mashego also expressed his views on the Trump and Musk fallout, adding that Malema is probably 'enjoying' seeing the two clash. 'I think Julius Malema is really enjoying, is really reveling at what is happening because it absorbs him in a way to say, look, two liars are now fighting. You know, they say, do not disturb. Napoleon Bonaparte once said, don't disturb your enemy when he's making a mistake.' Mashego said he believes that Malema is currently not in any mood to disturb what he called 'enemies' as they make mistakes. 'I hope he doesn't tweet. I hope he just watches the show. He just enjoys reading Elon Musk and Donald Trump's Truth Social tweets. So that, you know, I think it's a marvel…' He added, 'think EFF, I think Julius Malema, he now knows that the person who's been whispering into Donald Trump's eye is no longer in the picture, which means the rhetoric from the part of the White House towards him is going to be limited because Trump doesn't have an original opinion.' 'All that he's saying is a megaphone. He's just saying what other people want him to say. So I think this is really the end of the Que de Bois charade that Donald Trump used to stage. And it's the end of that whole obsession by Donald Trump with Elon Musk, because going forward, with the Que de Bois, because going forward, whatever Elon Musk says relating to South Africa, I think one of the people is going to really try to ridicule it will be Donald Trump.' 'So they have two fools, two buffoons, really ridiculing each other,' Mashego added. He described the fallout between Trump and Trump as a Christmas for the EFF. 'Well, I don't think it really gives Malema a chance to push his message of self-reliance because self-reliance needs not be pushed through rhetoric. It needs to be pushed through doing.' IOL News has sent questions to the EFF, requesting their input on the latest development between Trump and Musk, and will be updated once received. [email protected] IOL Politics
The Herald
2 hours ago
- The Herald
EP to meet Gardens about Top 12 jersey logo rule
New Gardens Rugby Club sponsors Multisure Corporation are unhappy that they cannot display their logo on the front of the team's jerseys when they play in the EPRU Score Energy Drink Top 12 competition. They have taken issue with teams playing in the Top 12 being forced to carry the competition sponsor's branding on their jerseys rather than those of the local businesses that support them. Multisure signed a sponsorship deal with Gardens in May, but were informed by EP Rugby that they cannot display their logo on the front of the jersey. 'Because of this agreement, communities are being denied the opportunity to grow by getting vital funding,' Multisure CEO Denton Goodford said. EP Rugby president George Malgas said a management committee meeting would be held on Monday to discuss the matter and to find a way forward. 'I have had engagements with Gardens and the sponsor Mr Goodford,' he said. 'We will have a manco meeting, understanding our obligation to our title sponsors Score and how we can try to accommodate Gardens and Multisure. 'EP will also have another engagement with Gardens this week.' Goodford has requested a copy of the agreement between the provincial rugby bosses and the sponsor, but was allegedly denied access. He has now written to the union in a bid to access the contract in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, and receipt has been acknowledged. 'Nobody knows much about this agreement, whether it's verbal or written and what the exact terms and conditions are,' Goodford said. 'Gardens and other clubs have asked for it, but EP president George Malgas has not released it, citing confidentiality. 'These boys practise three times a week and need to cover transport fees. 'The local business sponsorships help them do that. Individuals and smaller businesses have been assisting clubs for years because the unions cannot provide for them.' Goodford encountered a similar situation at the South Western Districts (SWD) Rugby Football Union, where the parties entered into a similar agreement, and he believes Garden Route clubs may suffer as a result. Multisure has ploughed money into Pacaltsdorp's Evergreens in George this year, and the 93-year-old George club has experienced a resurgence. He said Gardens supporters were already questioning why Multisure was not making any further investments in the club. 'This is why it is important to set the record straight for people in our communities.' — Additional reporting by Full Stop Communications The Herald
Mail & Guardian
2 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Reimagining SA-US relations in the aftermath of the Oval Office spectacle
US President Donald Trump. The Oval Office encounter between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump was no ordinary diplomatic engagement. It was a geopolitical theatre — a collision of clashing narratives, one anchored in misinformation, the other focused on sustaining economic opportunities. Yet beneath the theatrics lay deep tectonic shifts in the global order. If we reframe from spectacle to substance, this moment is not an anomaly, but a strong signal of change. Like a clarion call for transforming not just a bilateral relationship, but the paradigms that govern diplomacy in a fractured world. The spectacle and the system President Trump's invocation of the 'white genocide' and 'land expropriation' myths, conspiracy theories rooted in post-apartheid disinformation, transformed the Oval Office into a theatre of post-truth politics. In stark contrast, President Ramaphosa anchored his response in evidence and historical nuance. Yet, he was flanked by elites representing a narrow, privileged slice of South African society, many of whom continue to benefit from both apartheid-era structures and the post-1994 democratic order. Ironically, their presence inadvertently bolstered Trump's narrative, leaving Ramaphosa politically and rhetorically isolated. The dissonance in perspectives, most of which were tangential to the pressing structural issues, laid bare a deeper epistemic fault line in international diplomacy. A few days later, this collision of spectacle and geopolitics became more visible, more public and more fraught, as Elon Musk, a South African-born billionaire, reportedly exerted influence over South Africa's domestic ownership laws. His push to secure a license to operate These events expose a critical question — will global relations continue to be shaped by the ideological distortions of dominant powers or can emerging middle powers like South Africa assert a sovereign, historically grounded and futures-oriented voice in shaping global narratives? But to fixate solely on the leaders' exchange is to miss the forest for the trees. This encounter should be situated within four converging systemic dynamics: Weaponised misinformation: The Oval Office moment reflected a global trend in which misinformation becomes diplomatic currency, supplanting evidence-based policymaking with political spectacle. Colonial afterlives : Trump's selective empathy for lower-middle-class white South Africans, while erasing the structural violence of apartheid and ongoing economic inequality, mirrored America's own unfinished racial reckoning. Both nations remain haunted by colonial legacies that continue to shape contemporary power dynamics. Land reform in South Africa: It is central to addressing the enduring legacies of apartheid and colonial dispossession. The government's approach, as embedded in The manipulation of public discourse through misinformation further constrains the potential of land reform to serve as a vehicle for equitable economic empowerment. Geopolitical realignment: As the US recedes into transactional nationalism, South Africa is recalibrating its alliances, deepening its ties with Brics and the Global South. The Oval Office tension is not merely interpersonal; it is symptomatic of a world undergoing seismic geopolitical reordering. Creating pathways out of tension Futures thinking compels us to move beyond linear forecasting toward systemic foresight. How might South Africa and the US transform this tension into opportunity? Rather than reverting to business-as-usual diplomacy, this is a chance to craft pathways — not just to each other, but to the systemic crises unfolding across climate change, technology access, energy transitions and legitimacy: Institutionalise reparative diplomacy: South Africa should move beyond extractive and exploitative trade arrangements, such as exporting unprocessed critical minerals to the US, which disproportionately fuels US industrialisation, towards reparative partnerships grounded in mutual benefit, innovation and structural equity. This shift calls for a A reparative framework would also support greater symmetry in global power relations. South Africa's exports of critical minerals enable the US to secure its supply chains for strategic sectors, including artificial intelligence and military technologies. These partnerships must, however, also foreground South Africa's economic development priorities. At their core, they should promote domestic mineral beneficiation and intra-African value-chain development, imperatives to reducing dependency and advancing economic sovereignty. Defend transparent land reform: The South African government's land reform programme should continue evolving with clear legal frameworks, such as the Expropriation Act, ensuring fairness and promoting inclusive economic development. Redistributing land is only the first step; beneficiaries need title deeds, financial, technical and infrastructural support to make land productive and sustainable while reassuring investors that land reform will not undermine agricultural productivity or economic stability. Crucially, unutilised state and rural land under the jurisdiction of traditional authorities should be integrated into a broader national strategy. Land reform and economic development are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing. Embrace post-Western multilateralism: The US should engage South Africa not as a subordinate but as a co-architect of new governance frameworks, particularly in frontier arenas such as AI ethics, climate and trade diplomacy and global financial architecture reform. Equally, South Africa should guard against surrendering its agency to a declining hegemon operating through outdated diplomatic paradigms. A truly post-Western multilateralism requires that all governments adapt and engage as equals in shaping more just and future-fit international systems. A call for courage and imagination The Oval Office confrontation was not merely a diplomatic rupture; it was a symptom of decaying systems and a crucible of possibility. Futures thinking reminds us that crises are not endpoints, but inflexion points. Here, futures studies are defined as a systematic, transdisciplinary approach to exploring, anticipating and shaping more favourable outcomes by embracing complexity and a plurality of possible trajectories. The Retrofitting established policy frameworks to accommodate Musk sets the stage for a global order where misinformation thrives, alliances fracture and diplomacy is reduced to viral spectacle. But this future is not inevitable. It is a choice. The central question shaping South Africa-US relations is no longer merely whether the two nations can afford to collaborate. Rather, it is how South Africa can most effectively navigate a shifting geopolitical landscape, one increasingly defined not by binary choices, but by the rise of multipolarity, multi-alignment and strategic autonomy. As US diplomacy contends with internal challenges and fluctuating global influence, countries like South Africa and others are exploring other partnerships, such as Brics, opening a spectrum of diplomatic possibilities. These range from deepening ties with the US to expanding South–South cooperation through Brics, to crafting a nuanced foreign policy that engages multiple partners without becoming beholden to any single bloc. A sovereign-respecting relationship between South Africa and the US would depart from the legacy of asymmetrical engagement. Instead, it would reflect the emergence of a multipolar global order in which both countries act as autonomous agents defined not by subordination or rivalry, but by mutual respect, flexible cooperation and a recognition of shared and divergent interests alike. To thrive in an increasingly multipolar global economy, South Africa cannot afford isolation. It needs a diverse portfolio of allies and partnerships. The challenge now is whether Ramaphosa will pivot to the gravitational pull of Trump-era theatrics and Musk's techno-capitalist demands or whether he can seize this moment to reset the terms of engagement with the US on the foundations of sovereignty, foresight and shared prosperity. Letitia Jentel is the senior programme manager and researcher with the Futures programme at the , an independent public policy think tank.
