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CNN
4 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
How Fox News, Trump's biggest media ally, has handled his feud with Elon Musk
CNN — The most powerful alliance in US politics crumbled in real-time on Thursday, with President Donald Trump and Elon Musk lobbing political barbs and personal insults at each other from their respective social media platforms. The pair's biggest media allies at Fox News — the most-watched cable news network on the planet, often viewed as a clearinghouse for the MAGA agenda — seem to be having a little difficulty with the breakup. Since Thursday afternoon, the network's MAGA-aligned opinion personalities have largely mourned the feud and appeared torn between their two central heroes, at times openly imploring them through the TV screen to reconcile. Will Cain lamented that the feud is 'not a story that we wanted today for America.' Greg Gutfeld demanded the pair 'knock it off' and make up. Don't 'sabotage' a Trump 'Golden Age,' he said, 'with this self-inflicted feud.' Longtime Trump ally and personal friend Laura Ingrahamexhorted Musk, whom she called a modern-day Thomas Edison, to see that 'Trump is not the problem here.' She confessed the situation 'makes me sad,' and solemnly claimed she 'talked to an insider today who said it is irreparable.' Other Fox News personalities seemed to deny the severity of the two most powerful figures in conservative politics publicly calling each other liars, losers and worse. 'Big deal,' Sean Hannity said. 'They'll work it out eventually, they'll become friends again.' 'There is no split,' declared 'Fox & Friends' co-host Lawrence Jones on Friday morning. 'They're going to bury the hatchet.' He added: 'You've got two strong alpha males that are deep in their convictions and it just exploded online.' Primetime host Jesse Watters suggested Trump and Musk were 'just blowing off steam' and likened the situation to buddies in a love triangle: 'Guys sometimes will punch you in the face, and the next night you're having beer; sleep with your girlfriend, and you patch things up.' 'Fox & Friends' co-host Ainsley Earhardt made a similar analogy: 'It's just like a relationship,' she said. 'Everyone's been in a relationship where in the very beginning you're crazy about each other, you're talking marriage, you're talking about meeting the family, and then all of a sudden it takes a turn and you don't like each other anymore.' Surprisingly, the network hasn't shied away from repeating Musk's allegation that Trump is mentioned in the so-called Epstein files, long a subject of right-wing conspiracy theories. 'If Trump was in them, Biden probably would have released them,' Watters asserted. Trump 'was one of the first people to realize just how horrible Epstein really was,' Hannity offered in a defense. 'The Epstein file thing was way over the top, and just crazy to say Trump was in the Epstein files,' Brian Kilmeade said Friday morning. 'What are you doing?' However, Kilmeade was careful to praise Musk's efforts during his time in the Trump administration. Notably, none of Fox's MAGA-aligned opinion stars explicitly chose a side, instead choosing to believe this is a mere blip in their big, beautiful friendship. It will be interesting to see where they fall should things get even uglier. The safe bet's on Trump, of course.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Newscast Americast: Trump vs Elon Musk
How did one of the most powerful alliances in American politics blow up? The falling out between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has been playing out very publicly on social media, with back and forth insults and threats. Sarah Smith, Marianna Spring, Justin Webb and Anthony Zurcher unpack how the row intensified with Trump threatening to revoke Musk's government contracts and Musk claiming, without evidence, that Trump appeared in the unreleased Epstein files. Musk also suggested that Trump should be impeached. But why does a row between the world's richest person and one of the most powerful, the US president, matter to America and the rest of the world? And what impact could it have on the 2026 midterms? HOSTS: * Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter * Sarah Smith, North America Editor * Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent * Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent GET IN TOUCH: * Join our online community: * Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 * Email Americast@ * Or use #Americast This episode was made by Purvee Pattni, Alix Picikles, Rufus Gray, Grace Reeve and Tom Gillett. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app. You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast'. It works on most smart speakers. US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony's BBC newsletter: Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. Newscast: Ukrainecast:
New York Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
The Fireworks Between Trump and Musk
To the Editor: Re 'Trump and Musk Shatter Alliance in an Angry Burst of Public Insults' (front page, June 6): To understand the Donald Trump-Elon Musk fiasco, it is essential to start with the unique abilities each brought to their relationship. President Trump has a powerful ability to communicate with millions of Americans who feel unheard and not seen. He is, however, not effective at developing and implementing complex policy issues. This is seen in his trade policies. Mr. Trump engages others with a focus on overwhelming them, and when he cannot he backtracks. Mr. Musk has attained a vast fortune from his brilliant management skills and knowledge. To accomplish this, he understands policy and details. He has exactly the abilities that Mr. Trump lacks, and Mr. Trump has ones that Mr. Musk lacks. Working together they were a powerful pair. Mr. Musk, with DOGE, effectively became Mr. Trump's chief operating officer. Mr. Trump needed him to launch his administration. Neither likely anticipated the intense legal and public backlash to Mr. Musk's actions. The shellacking of the Republican candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court supported with millions by Mr. Musk was a red flag for Republicans and Trump. Mr. Trump needed Mr. Musk's talents, but now Mr. Musk was a political risk. Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk both needed to find a face-saving way for Mr. Musk's exit. It appeared they had it. It lasted a day. Mr. Musk knows how dependent Mr. Trump was on him and his weakness in addressing policy. He likely felt not acknowledged or appreciated when treated as a liability. For Mr. Musk to be seen as a liability was a narcissistic injury, and he has responded with rage. That is where we are today. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
From banning X to funding Dems: All the ways Musk and Trump could hurt each other as they go nuclear
An alliance between the two most powerful men in the world seemed destined to blow up into a volatile feud yet somehow held ... until it didn't. Within a few hours on Thursday, the public spat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk exploded into debates over the president's impeachment, calls to launch primary challengers against Republican allies in Congress, and Musk's accusation that the president is implicated in a sexual abuse scandal. But how they choose to escalate from here could have far-reaching impacts — and not just for the fate of a massive bill that sparked their breakup. Trump and Musk command the world's attention, own competing social media platforms, and are each in a position to wield the power of the presidency and spend, and lose, billions of dollars against one another. How Trump could go after Musk Kill government contracts Trump has already suggested yanking government contracts for Musk's companies Tesla and SpaceX, which are due to receive at least $3 billion in contracts from 17 agencies. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. On his War Room podcast, Trump ally Steve Bannon urged Trump to retaliate against the world's wealthiest man by, among other things, using the Defense Production Act to take control of SpaceX. 'The U.S. government should seize it,' Bannon said Thursday. Cut off Elon's access to the White House Musk ended his 130-day 'special government employee' term in the Trump administration last week after serving as an 'adviser' to the president for the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk unleashed across the federal government to make drastic cuts to spending and the workforce. But Trump left the door open for Musk to return. That 130-day term can be renewed next year. Trump could sever that arrangement at any time. Bannon also called on Trump to strip Musk's top-secret clearances, which he is granted in conjunction with his work on SpaceX and NASA. Make X illegal With more than 220 million followers on a social media platform under his control, Musk can use that audience and ability to shift media narratives against the president to advance his agenda. Trump, whose entire campaign was built on retribution, possesses executive authority to shut X down, according to experts. Trump could declare X a national security risk, 'which would permit him to ban the platform outright,' claims Devan Leos with AI platform Undetectable AI. The president could invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on national security grounds to prevent X from operating, which would likely trigger a high-profile legal battle. 'Musk now faces a difficult choice. He can ban Trump from X in retaliation, but that would almost certainly trigger an executive response from the White House,' according to Leos. The president, meanwhile, owns more than 100 million shares, or roughly 53 per cent, of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of social media platform Truth Social. His stake in the company is worth billions of dollars. Investigate Musk's immigration status and drug use Musk was born in South Africa before he emigrated to Canada and later the United States. Last year, The Washington Post reported that the billionaire worked in the country illegally before gaining citizenship. Bannon called on the president to deport him. 'Elon Musk is illegal. He's got to go too,' Bannon said on his War Room podcast. Trump also could wield the power of his office to initiate other investigations under a Department of Justice controlled by his fierce ally Attorney General Pam Bondi, including into allegations of his drug use at the campaign trail and within the administration. How Musk could go after Trump Flood opponents with cash The world's wealthiest person spent tens of millions of dollars supporting Trump's 2024 campaign. On Thursday, he took credit for his victory. But this year, his multimillion-dollar effort to support a conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate blew up in his face, with his DOGE efforts tanking his — and Tesla's — appeal. Still, Republican candidates fear being his target. Musk and his allies have threatened to fund primary challenges against any GOP member of Congress who supports legislation he doesn't. 'Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80 percent in the middle?' Musk asked on Thursday. Democrats agree with Musk that Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' is a disaster but aren't necessarily welcoming him to the party after the right-wing billionaire torched government agencies and helped but Trump back in office. 'We should ultimately be trying to convince him that the Democratic Party has more of the values that he agrees with,' California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, whose district represents Silicon Valley, told Politico. 'A commitment to science funding, a commitment to clean technology, a commitment to seeing international students like him.' Liam Kerr, co-founder of the centrist WelcomeFest meeting underway in Washington during the Trump-Musk feud, told the outlet that 'of course' Democrats should be open to Musk. 'You don't want anyone wildly distorting your politics, which he has a unique capability to do. But it's a zero-sum game,' Kerr told Politico. 'Anything that he does that moves more toward Democrats hurts Republicans.' Wield social media against the president It took just four hours for a feud playing out on two different social media platforms for Musk to drop what he called a 'bomb' against the president. 'Time to drop the really big bomb,' he wrote on X. '[Trump] is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' That loaded accusation — Musk's suggestion that Trump was involving the sex offender's trafficking scheme — appeared to be the tipping point in their feud. Musk, who just days ago seemed to have no problem associating with a man he is now alleging is implicated in Epstein's crimes, could launch a humiliation campaign against the president for an audience that has been largely disappointed with the Trump administration's approach to the Epstein case. Far-right influencers have turned on top federal law enforcement officials over the case, accusing Trump of continuing what they believe is a 'deep state' conspiracy theory covering up powerful people. Musk could leverage that hostility. Use DOGE against Trump Musk hired a small army of young loyalists and old allies for his government-wide operation to not only eliminate jobs and spending but extract reams of data from millions of Americans. DOGE's unprecedented access to Americans' data 'is alarming, made worse by the complete absence of meaningful oversight,' according to Ben Zipperer, a senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute. 'That unrestrained access to data will likely worsen the problem of identity theft in the United States, which could cost working families tens of billions of dollars annually.' A report from Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren's office also uncovered more than 100 instances that Musk allegedly abused his role as a 'special government employee' overseeing DOGE to benefit his private interests. Musk violated 'norms at an astonishing pace,' amounting to 'scandalous behavior regardless of whether it subjects him to criminal prosecution.' The report accuses Musk of using the government to promote his businesses, including turning the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom, and allegedly discovered roughly two dozen instances where the government 'entered or explored new lucrative contracts' with the billionaire while halting enforcement actions against his companies.
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Free Malaysia Today
‘Oh it's okay' Trump says of Musk political marriage meltdown
Donald Trump threatened to revoke Elon Musk's major government contracts following the public collapse of their political alliance. (AP pic) WASHINGTON : US President Donald Trump said 'Oh it's okay,' when asked about his very public breakup with former ally and donor Elon Musk, POLITICO reported. White House aides have, according to the outlet, also scheduled a call with Musk on Friday in the hope of diffusing the situation. Trump and Musk's unlikely political marriage exploded in a fiery public divorce Thursday, with the US president threatening to strip the billionaire of his huge government contracts. Trump said in a televised Oval Office diatribe that he was 'very disappointed' after his former aide and top donor criticised his 'big, beautiful' spending bill before Congress. The pair traded insults over social media, with Musk – who was Trump's biggest campaign donor to the tune of US$300 million – claiming the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without his support. But Trump played down the feud during his brief interview with POLITICO on Thursday. 'It's going very well, never done better,' Trump told POLITICO before going on to tout his favourability ratings. The row could have major political and economic fallout, as shares in Musk's Tesla car company plunged and the South African-born tech tycoon vowed that he would end a critical US spaceship programme.
