Latest news with #TrumpMusk
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Susie Wiles speaks on Trump-Musk relationship
Donald Trump 's right-hand woman has lifted the lid on Elon Musk 's contentious relationship with the president and why it was doomed from the start. Susie Wiles, the president's chief of staff nicknamed the 'Ice Maiden,' divulged new details on the tempestuous relationship between the world's richest man and the world's most powerful man. As chief of staff she is privy to high-level discussions and maintains a seat in Cabinet meetings and even in the Situation Room. Her access to the White House is practically unparalleled, meaning while Musk sometimes overnighted in the Lincoln Bedroom, she saw everything close up. Practically attached at the hip for the final stages of the Trump's 2024 campaign until Musk's departure from DOGE at the end of May, the duo's relationship has soured rapidly in their weeks apart . 'How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won't release the Epstein files?' Musk wrote on Tuesday putting the administration on blast for not releasing the full trove of documents. The X owner has posted on his app about Trump many times since his White House split, even skewering the Republican's domestic policy plan, the 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' claiming it would drive America into 'debt slavery.' But behind the scenes Musk and Trump had a relationship that Wiles said was akin to a father-son connection. 'The president was very, very kind to him, and Elon had so much to offer us,' Wiles said. Speaking with the New York Post's Miranda Devine , Wiles agreed with the host's assessment that Musk had a 'fatherly fixation' with Trump. 'He knew things we didn't know. He knew people and technologies that we didn't know. It was a great thing when it was a great thing, and had a very, I think, a very troublesome ending.' When pressed by Devine about why things imploded like one of the SpaceX owner's test flights the politically astute 'Ice Maiden' dodged. 'I don't know. I don't understand it.' She described the fracas as 'very troublesome,' but downplayed the spat as just a 'little hiccup' for the White House. 'I know that what has been said doesn't ring accurate to me, but I don't know, I enjoyed working with Elon,' Wiles continued while choosing her words carefully about the two trading barbs online. In June, Musk posted then deleted a statement claiming the president 'is in the Epstein files ... That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' The billionaire later apologized, saying he regretted some of his posts about the Republican. Musk again revitalized the attack line on Tuesday, claiming, without evidence, that former Trump advisor Steve Bannon is on the Epstein list. Trump called Musk a 'train wreck' after the billionaire's frenzied posts, often coming in the early morning hours. Though Musk's outrage goes beyond just traditional MAGA figures. After Trump's tax-and-spending bill passed last week the mega-billionaire announced the creation of a new political party, the 'America Party,' though it is not yet registered with the Federal Election Commission. The father of at least 14 children also claimed he would primary every Republican that voted for the over $3 trillion package, which is all but five, meaning 268 GOP lawmakers can expect challenges to their reelection - if Musk is to be believed. 'I think he's a fascinating person and sees the world differently. And I think that's probably what the President saw too, just a little bit different than the average Joe, but certainly came to not a good ending,' Wiles said. Though the chief of staff compared Elon Musk to an average Joe, she did laud him for being the world's richest person and 'I think the world's smartest man, honestly.' She also said the billionaire's intuition and 'insight into people' during the transition period was important to the team's success. 'He does have a quirky, my word, approach to the way he views virtually everything, but certainly business and organizations and government and insight into people that were really important, I think, in the very early days, particularly during transition.' Wiles, 68, is a longtime political consultant and lobbyist who has been in Trump's inner orbit since February 2021. She previously worked for Ronald Reagan's administration and has gotten praise among Republicans for keeping the energetic and - at times - frenetic president on task and on message.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
White House chief of staff details Musk's ‘fatherly fixation' with Trump and their falling out in new interview
Donald Trump 's White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, has shared her perspective on the president's brief friendship with Elon Musk. The Republican accepted more than $288 million in campaign donations from the Tesla, SpaceX, and X boss last year and rewarded him with a role as a special adviser in charge of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. Musk left the role in late May having fallen out with several cabinet members and after disagreeing profoundly with Trump about the impact of his 'Big, Beautiful Bill' and its effect on the national debt and immediately entered into a bitter and highly personal war of words with the president, conducted largely across social media. Speaking to Miranda Devine on The New York Post 's Pod Force One podcast, Wiles, 68, agreed with the host's suggestion that the South African-born tech impresario 'had a sort of fatherly fixation with Donald Trump that I guess inevitably was going to blow up at some point.' 'The president was very, very kind to him, and Elon had so much to offer us. He knew things we didn't know. He knew people and technologies that we didn't know. It was a great thing when it was a great thing, and had a very, I think, a very troublesome ending,' she added. Asked why it had all gone so sour, Wiles answered: 'I don't know. I don't understand it. I don't know. I know that what has been said doesn't ring accurate to me but I don't know. 'I enjoy working with Elon. I think he is a fascinating person and sees the world differently, and I think that's probably what the president saw, too. Just a little bit different than the average Joe. But it certainly came to… not a good ending.' Wiles – who, along with Chris LaCivita, masterminded Trump's winning presidential run last year – added that she thought Musk 'might be the world's smartest man' and pointed out that he provided input about 'business and organizations and government and insight into people that were really important, I think, in the very early days, particularly during [the] transition.' Musk's initial spat with Trump early last month was focused on the tax and spending megabill, which the former called a 'disgusting abomination' and 'pork-filled,' leading the president to say he was 'disappointed' with the criticism from his erstwhile 'first buddy.' From there, it all became much more personal, with Musk alleging that the real reason Trump's Justice Department had not released its files on the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was because the president himself was mentioned in them, a claim the president angrily refuted. The feud fell silent for several weeks but kicked off again when Trump's signature legislation reached the Senate last week, leading the president to threaten his ex-ally with deportation and cuts to government subsidies benefiting his businesses. Musk retaliated by launching his own political party, the America Party, to peel votes away from both Republicans and Democrats, which led Trump to comment that the world's richest man had 'gone off the rails' and become a 'trainwreck.' Wiles did disagree with Devine when she floated the idea that jealousy might have played a role in the falling out between the two men, saying, revealingly: 'That doesn't sound like Elon.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
07-07-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Calls Musk's Formation of New Party ‘Ridiculous'
US President Donald Trump on Sunday slammed former ally Elon Musk's launching of a new political party as 'ridiculous,' after the tech billionaire said he wanted to challenge the country's 'one-party system.' 'I think it's ridiculous to start a third party,' Trump told reporters before he boarded Air Force One on his way back to Washington from his New Jersey golf club. 'It's always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. Third parties have never worked,' he said. Trump added, 'So he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous.' Musk, the world's richest man, spent some $270 million underwriting Trump's 2024 re-election effort and, for a time, regularly showed up at the president's side in the White House Oval Office and elsewhere. Musk spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at cutting government spending, before he pulled back his involvement in late May, saying he would now be allocating far more time to his electric vehicle company Tesla, which reported a huge drop in profit and sales worldwide since the tech tycoon made a brief venture into Trump's inner circle. Shortly after his pull back from DOGE, the two men were exchanging bitter insults on social media after Musk criticized Trump's flagship spending bill. As the bill made its way through Congress, Musk had threatened to form the 'America Party' if 'this insane spending bill passes.' That bill passed the Senate by a narrow margin midday Tuesday. In response, Musk carried out his threat and announced that he is establishing the 'America Party.'
Russia Today
06-07-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Musk explained why he changed his stance on Trump
Elon Musk has admitted the sharp budget deficit hike had prompted him to change his stance on US President Donald Trump and speak out against his policies. Musk made the admission in a thread on X when he was asked by a social media user what prompted him to go from 'loving' Trump 'as much as a straight man can love another' to opposing the US president and attacking his 'efforts.' 'Increasing the deficit from an already insane $2 [trillion] under Biden to $2.5T. This will bankrupt the country,' Musk replied. Musk became one of the key Trump backers in his triumphant return to the White House last November. Following the president's inauguration, the tech billionaire became one of the key figures of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary organization established to cut budget costs and excessive federal spending. The Trump-Musk honeymoon, however, has turned out to be short, as the billionaire stepped down from his government post last month. Since then, Musk has been sharply criticizing Trump's flagship legislation, dubbed the 'big, beautiful bill,' which envisions massive increases in spending, cuts to social programs, and a sharp increase to the budget deficit limit. Since then, Musk and Trump have been locked in a recurring war of words, with the US president accusing his former ally of receiving more US government subsidies 'than any human being in history,' threatening to set out DOGE against him, and even mulling a potential deportation of the South African-born entrepreneur. This week, the 'big, beautiful bill' narrowly passed the US Senate and House, and the controversial legislation was signed into law by Trump on July 4. Last month, Musk pledged to launch a political force of his own in case the spending bill makes it through. The billionaire apparently lived by his promise, announcing the creation of a new America Party, which would purportedly represent the '80% in the middle.' Musk has signaled he was seeking to make his new party an active political force by the midterm elections next year, suggesting he would focus on a handful of seats to take advantage of 'the razor-thin legislative margins' and therefore have 'the deciding vote on contentious laws.'
The Independent
05-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump and Musk's feud: From Epstein allegations to clash over the Big, Beautiful Bill
On Friday May 30, President Donald Trump handed his close aide and 'first buddy' Elon Musk a golden key to the White House, praising the work the tech billionaire had done for his administration. 'Elon gave an incredible service,' Trump said at the joint press conference with Musk. 'There's nobody like him.' That event was intended to mark the end of Musk's 130 days as a special government advisor, leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in slashing excess federal spending. Elon Musk and Donald Trump in happier times (Getty) Although there had been some disagreements during Musk's time in the role – the Tesla owner made it clear he was not a fan of Trump's tariffs, for instance – the event seemed to mark a conciliatory end to their working relationship. But there were rumblings: Musk, whose whole purpose at DOGE had been reducing federal expense, was deeply opposed to Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' fearing it would ramp up the national debt over the next 10 years. While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had successfully managed to spin their difference of opinion as an example of healthy debate for a couple of days, everything came to a head on Thursday June 5. A month later and the two billionaires are back to trading pot shots as Trump's deadline to pass the bill looms. Here's a timeline of how the very public fight between Trump and Musk unfolded, which appeared unresolvable until Musk offered a grovelling apology six days later, only to then blow up again three weeks later. Trump vs Musk: Minute-by-minute 1.31pm ET, Tuesday June 3: Musk attacks the 'Big Beautiful Bill' Writing on X, Musk says: 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. 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.' He continued: 'It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America [sic] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.' Two days later, things escalated dramatically. 12pm, Thursday June 5: Trump says he's 'surprised' by Musk and 'very disappointed' In an Oval Office appearance with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said he was 'very disappointed' by Musk's comments. 'Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here,' Trump told reporters. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore.' Trump added he 'would have won Pennsylvania easily anyway,' without Musk's help. At first, Trump was uncharacteristically restrained with Musk (AFP/Getty) 1.44-1.57pm June 5: Musk renames bill, asks his followers if it is time to create a new political party Musk posts a slew of tweets to X, in one of which he rebuts Trump's point about Pennsylvania, arguing: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.' In another, he asks, 'Where is this guy today??' in response to a tweet of screenshots from the president's previous criticisms of increasing the debt ceiling. He then tweeted: 'The Big Ugly Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion!' This is shortly followed by a new suggestion from Musk: 'Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?' This post was still pinned to the top of the X owner's timeline for several days thereafter. 2.16pm June 5: Musk says he will be around for longer than Trump Responding to MAGA blogger Laura Loomer on X, who was commenting about the divide amongst Republicans over the fight between Musk and Trump, the billionaire said: 'Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years...' 2.37pm June 5: Trump attacks from Truth Social The president says that Musk was 'wearing thin' in a series of posts on his social media platform. 'I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump said. He then added: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' 2.48 pm June 5: Musk hits back Retweeting a screenshot of Trump's EV mandate comment (alluding to the Big, Beautiful Bill scrapping a $7,500 tax credit for EV customers, which would impact Tesla), Musk said: 'Such an obvious lie. So sad.' 3.10 pm June 5: Musk alleges Trump appears in the Jeffrey Epstein files Musk tweeted: 'Files linked to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have emerged as a point of fixation for Trump and his allies and right-wing media figures. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' Shortly after, he wrote: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' 4.09 pm June 5: Musk says he will decommission the Dragon spacecraft 'In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,' he tweeted. Another X user replied, urging Musk to 'cool off and take a step back for a couple of days.' Musk replied: 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.' SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lift off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida (NASA) 4.06 pm June 5: Trump defends the bill Trump wrote on Truth Social: 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It's a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. 'If this Bill doesn't pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn't create this mess, I'm just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' 4.11 pm June 5: Musk seems to agree Trump should be replaced by Vice President JD Vance Musk retweets an X user, who said: 'President vs Elon. Who wins? My money's on Elon. Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him.' 4.26 pm June 5: Musk brings tariffs into the fight Musk tweets: 'The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year.' The point echoes a warning issued by many of the president's critics, from economists to pundits, but most notably his former presidential rival Kamala Harris. 7.50 pm June 5: Musk says 'Kill the bill' Musk tweets: 'Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL.' Musk and Trump posing with a Tesla at the White House on March 11 2025 (Reuters) Last post of June 5: Impeachment for Trump? Musk's last repost for the day came from an X user, who said: 'This is why Republicans will likely lose the House in 2026 and then Democrats will spend two years investigating and impeaching President Trump. 'Trump and the Republicans in Congress need to deliver. We want budget cuts. We want agencies shut down. We don't want big govt.' June 6: Trump shuns phone call to clear the air The following day, West Wing aides briefed the media that the two men were planning a private phone call to clear the air, only for the president himself to tell reporters that he had no interest in speaking to the man who had donated at least $288m to his election campaign just months earlier, leaving their once-close relationship in limbo. Trump told Jonathan Karl of ABC News he was 'not particularly' interested in talking to Musk and said to Dana Bash of CNN: 'I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem.' 3 am June 11: Musk seeks reconciliation? With Trump and his administration subsequently shifting focus to the Los Angeles anti-ICE protests, the tech boss unexpectedly extends an olive branch. 'I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week,' Musk wrote on X in the small hours of the morning. 'They went too far.' 4 pm June 28: Megabill disagreement erupts again After several weeks of quiet, in which Musk returned to his businesses and the president turned his attention towards Los Angeles and joining Israel's offensive against Iran, the two egos clashed again when Trump's bloated, 940-page 'Big, Beautiful Bill' made its way to the Senate. 'The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!' Musk wrote on X. 'Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.' Musk revived his attacks on Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' in late June, objecting to its likely increase to the national debt (AP) 4 pm June 30: Musk pledges to support primary opponents of Republicans who back bill After the president's signature bill narrowly passed the Senate 51-49, it was subjected to a marathon 'vote-a-rama' in which lawmakers tabled amendments seeking to modify a legislative package many feared went too far in cutting welfare programs while cranking up the national debt, a particular concern of Musk's. 'Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!' the world's richest man posted. 'And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.' 1am July 1: Trump suggests DOGE investigate Musk subsidies with veiled threat to send him 'home to South Africa' While the president was largely preoccupied with keeping Republican 'grandstanders' in line as the Senate voting progressed, he finally snapped and went after Musk on Truth Social in the early hours of Tuesday morning. 'Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate,' Trump huffed. 'It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. 'No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!'
