Latest news with #politicalclash
CTV News
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Musk's father says Trump dispute triggered by intense stress, has to end
Elon Musk, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) MOSCOW - The dispute between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was triggered by months of intense stress on both sides, and the public battle between the U.S. president and the billionaire donor needs to stop, Musk's father told Reuters on Monday. Trump and Musk began exchanging insults last week on social media, with the Tesla TSLA.O and SpaceX CEO describing the president's sweeping tax and spending bill as a 'disgusting abomination.' Asked whether he thought his son had made a mistake by engaging in a public clash with the president, Errol Musk said people were sometimes unable to think as clearly as they should 'in the heat of the moment.' 'They've had five months of intense stress,' Musk told Reuters at a conference in Moscow organized by conservative Russian tycoons. 'With all the opposition cleared and two people left in the arena, all they have ever done is get rid of everything and now they are trying to get rid of each other - well that has to stop.' Asked how it would end, he said: 'Oh, it will end on a good note - very soon.' Neither the White House nor Musk could be reached for comment outside normal U.S. business hours. Trump said on Saturday his relationship with Musk was over and that there would be 'serious consequences' if the world's richest man decided to fund U.S. Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending bill. Musk bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. Musk's father told reporters he was standing by his son. 'Elon is sticking to his principles but you cannot always stick to your principles in the real world,' Musk's father said. 'Sometimes you have to give and take.' Speaking beside sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, Musk's father praised President Vladimir Putin as a 'very stable and pleasant man.' He accused 'fake media' in the West of projecting 'complete nonsense' about Russia and for casting it as an enemy. By Guy Faulconbridge Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Timothy Heritage
BreakingNews.ie
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- BreakingNews.ie
Musk's father says Trump dispute triggered by intense stress, has to end
The dispute between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was triggered by months of intense stress on both sides, and the public battle between the US president and the billionaire donor needs to stop, Mr Musk's father told Reuters on Monday. Mr Trump and Mr Musk began exchanging insults last week on social media, with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO describing the president's sweeping tax and spending bill as a "disgusting abomination". Advertisement Asked whether he thought his son had made a mistake by engaging in a public clash with the president, Errol Musk said people were sometimes unable to think as clearly as they should "in the heat of the moment". "They've had five months of intense stress," Mr Musk told Reuters at a conference in Moscow organised by conservative Russian tycoons. "With all the opposition cleared and two people left in the arena, all they have ever done is get rid of everything and now they are trying to get rid of each other - well that has to stop." Asked how it would end, he said: "Oh, it will end on a good note - very soon." Advertisement Neither the White House nor Mr Musk could be reached for comment outside normal US business hours. Mr Trump said on Saturday his relationship with Mr Musk was over and that there would be "serious consequences" if the world's richest man decided to fund US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending bill. Mr Musk bankrolled a large part of Mr Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Mr Trump named Mr Musk to head an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. Mr Musk's father told reporters he was standing by his son. "Elon is sticking to his principles but you cannot always stick to your principles in the real world," Mr Musk's father said. "Sometimes you have to give and take." Speaking beside sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev,Mr Musk's father praised president Vladimir Putin as a "very stable and pleasant man". He accused "fake media" in the West of projecting "complete nonsense" about Russia and for casting it as an enemy.
CNA
12 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Musk's father says Trump dispute triggered by intense stress, has to end
MOSCOW: The dispute between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was triggered by months of intense stress on both sides, and the public battle between the United States president and the billionaire donor needs to stop, Musk's father told Reuters on Monday (Jun 9). Trump and Musk began exchanging insults last week on social media, with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO describing the president's sweeping tax and spending Bill as a "disgusting abomination". Asked whether he thought his son had made a mistake by engaging in a public clash with the president, Errol Musk said people were sometimes unable to think as clearly as they should "in the heat of the moment". "They've had five months of intense stress," Musk told Reuters at a conference in Moscow organised by conservative Russian tycoons. "With all the opposition cleared and two people left in the arena, all they have ever done is get rid of everything, and now they are trying to get rid of each other - well that has to stop." Asked how it would end, he said: "Oh, it will end on a good note - very soon." Trump said on Saturday his relationship with Musk was over and that there would be "serious consequences" if the world's richest man decided to fund US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending Bill. Musk bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. Musk's father told reporters he was standing by his son. "Elon is sticking to his principles, but you cannot always stick to your principles in the real world," Musk's father said. "Sometimes you have to give and take." Speaking beside sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, Musk's father praised President Vladimir Putin as a "very stable and pleasant man". He accused "fake media" in the West of projecting "complete nonsense" about Russia and of casting it as an enemy.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Staggering list of allies Trump has burned through as president... as bitter Elon Musk fight escalates
Elon Musk is the latest MAGA ally to join Donald Trump 's ever-growing list of foes after their friendship publicly exploded in a bitter war of words. The clash, which began over Musk's opposition to Trump's 'big, beautiful bill', saw the world's richest man call for the president to impeached after linking him to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump even suggested the Tesla CEO's multibillion-dollar government contracts should be ripped away. While the feud has left GOP splinters torn between sides, it should come as no surprise as the president has a long track record of turning his allies and aides against him. His first Oval Office term saw top aides like Sean Spicer and Anthony Scaramucci jump ship early on, followed by a slew of other key members of his administration. Trump's then Vice President Mike Pence delivered the final blow after the Capitol riot and publicly declared the president 'puts himself over the Constitution'. Political analysts have long warned Trump and Musk's bromance was doomed from the start, alleging how the pair have 'planet-sized egos destined to collide'. ELON MUSK After months of buddying-up, Donald Trump and Elon Musk turned on each other Thursday in a huge public spat. The falling-out had begun brewing days ago when Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill. The verbal punches erupted on Thursday after Trump criticized Musk in the Oval Office and the pair then traded barbs on their respective social media platforms. In a possible sign of cooling late Thursday night, however, White House aides had scheduled a Friday call between the two men in an attempt to broker peace. And, in a potential olive branch, Musk replied to a post on X, from billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, pleading for a reconciliation 'for the benefit of our great country' and warning that 'we are much stronger together than apart.' Musk's response was brief but telling: 'You're not wrong.' MIKE PENCE Donald Trump and Mike Pence hastily parted ways following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Trump wanted Pence to throw out Electoral College votes from swing states that President Joe Biden won as he presided over the joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 election. Pence refused and Trump's supporters went after him - chanting 'hang Mike Pence' and erecting makeshift gallows outside the Capitol Building amid the riot. The January 6 House select committee found that a Proud Boys informant had told the FBI that if members of the group had found Pence that day, they would have killed him. Pence spoke out about the insurrection incident two years later, publicly slamming Trump: 'The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution. 'Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.' RETIRED GEN. JOHN KELLY Donald Trump and his longest-serving White House chief-of-staff parted ways in 2019 after months of reports that their relationship had deteriorated. Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly later publicly turned on his former boss, branding him a 'dictator' and likening him to Adolf Hitler. Ahead of the 2024 election, Kelly claimed Trump was the 'definition of fascist' and that he did not have an understanding of American history or the Constitution. Trump's camp quickly dispute Kelly's wild remarks, saying the former political advisor 'has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated'. JOHN BOLTON Donald Trump pushed out John Bolton, his third National Security Advisor, in September 2019. Bolton published a tell-all book about his time working for Trump in June 2020, ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Trump's Justice Department tried to stop publication of the book claiming Bolton needed to wait for the White House to review whether it contained classified information. After leaving government service it was revealed that Bolton had been targeted for assassination by Iran. Trump retaliated against Bolton again this year after his return to the Oval Office and even moved to have Bolton's Secret Service protection terminated. Bolton also warned in March this year that Trump's 'bromance' with Elon Musk 'is almost over'. SEAN SPICER Sean Spicer's six-month White House stint was part of Donald Trump's most turbulent time in office, as key figures waged war with one another and the media. The former White House Press Secretary quickly became a household name when he blasted the press a day after Trump was sworn in. The president was frustrated by comparisons that showed his inauguration crowd to be smaller than Barack Obama's and Spicer insisted it was 'the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.' That set a pattern for a press secretary in an awkward position trying to defend some of Trump's most outlandish boasts. He left as part of a wider shakeup of strategy that heralded the famously short tenure of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director. ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI Anthony Scaramucci spent an infamous 11 days in Donald Trump's first White House as communications director. Scaramucci was appointed as the White House Communications Director on July 21, 2017, and later that same day, Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned, reportedly over objection to his hiring. Only a few days later, the newly minted Trump official found himself at the center of a P.R. crisis when he launched an expletive-laden rant on a phone call with a New Yorker reporter, which he thought was off the record. By July 31, the president had dismissed 'the Mooch,' on the advice of his new chief of staff, John Kelly, who doubted that Scaramucci was credible enough for the role. When he was sacked, his total tenure of eleven days became tied for the shortest in the history of the position. Scaramucci claims Trump fired him after he disagreed with him on national security policy. Trump has long rubbished Scaramucci's claims about him, suggesting that his former aide is bitter and that he has an ax to grind. The former aide soured on Trump after his stint in the White House, and went on to support Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in the 2024. MICHAEL COHEN Donald Trump's former longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen went from being the president's 'fixer' to one of his most vocal adversaries. Cohen, who handled Trump's hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, has testified against Trump several times since the pair parted ways. He spent three years in prison after pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, lying to Congress, and other charges - which Cohen claims he did for Trump. After serving his prison term, Cohen vowed to hold Trump accountable, branding him a 'racist', 'conman' and 'cheat'. Cohen said he would 'continue to provide information, testimony, documents and my full cooperation on all ongoing investigations to ensure that others are held responsible for their dirty deeds'. He also predicted a fall-out between Trump and Elon Musk, doubling down on the claims on Sunday - just days before the pair's explosive online feud. 'I said from the very start that this bromance was gonna come to an end,' Cohen told MSNBC. 'I'm gonna go one step even further, again, and I'm gonna say Trump will ultimately go after Elon's money next because it bothers him that he is the richest man in the world'. He added: 'Yes, he used him for his money.' Donald Trump's ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (pictured in January last year) run against her former boss for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination Donald Trump's ambassador to the United Nations run against her former boss for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Nikki Haley resigned from her position as Governor of South Carolina in 2017 to serve as Trump's ambassador to the UN. She stepped down from the role in December 2018, after holding the position for nearly two years. At the time she said she needed a break from public office. Haley and Trump have had a tumultuous relationship in recent years. During the 2024 GOP primary, Haley ripped into Trump as 'unhinged,' 'chaotic' and 'self-absorbed'. She also blasted his age and mental fitness. But several months after she bowed out of the race, Haley announced she would be voting for the ex-president. REX TILLERSON Donald Trump tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be his Secretary of State during his first Oval Office term. He served in the role from 2017 to 2018. Tillerson claimed Trump had not told him he was out of a job until three hours after publicly firing him in a tweet. The former diplomat publicly denounced Trump in the months that followed and said the two men don't share the same 'value system'. He described the president as someone almost entirely driven by impulse, who doesn't read, and who would ask him to break the law or breach treaties in his demands for immediate action. Trump hit back, branding Tillerson 'dumb' and 'lazy'. RETIRED LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn served as Donald Trump's National Security Advisor during his first administration. Flynn resigned from his resigned in February 2017 after it was revealed he had misled officials about his communications with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak. The retired Army lieutenant general was charged under former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation that detailed Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Flynn pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI about his conversations before Trump took office with Kislyak, who was then Russia's ambassador to the United States, concerning US sanctions imposed on Russia under President Barack Obama. He then reversed his guilty plea, allegedly government vindictiveness and breach of the plea agreement, before the Justice Department stepped in to dismiss his case. Trump pardoned Flynn in November 2020, ending the yearslong prosecution in the Russia investigation. STEVE BANNON Donald Trump's original political guru Steve Bannon was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress in July 2022. The War Room podcast host served as chief strategist during Trump's first term before the pair split acrimoniously in 2017, but he was also devoted to the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. He was convicted in 2022 for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol attack. He received a sentence of four months in prison and a $6,500 fine. In February this year, Bannon pleaded guilty in state court to defrauding donors to a private effort to build a wall on the US southern border, ending a case the conservative strategist decried as a 'political persecution.' He must stay out of trouble for three years to avoid additional punishment, including possible jail time. He also can't raise money or serve as an officer or director for charities in New York and can't use, sell, or possess any data gathered from border wall donors. Bannon - whose influence during Trump's first term compared to 'First Buddy' Elon Musk in the second - last month weighed in on the pair's failing bromance. He alleged Musk's attempts to gain access to secret briefings on war plans ultimately resulted in the end of his White House stint. Bannon claimed the alliance ended the moment Trump was prevented from showing Musk the Pentagon's plans for a hypothetical war with China. He labeled the Tesla billionaire as an elitist outsider and interloper in a political movement he helped shape from the ground up. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN Ex-White House communications advisor Alyssa Farah Griffin turned on Donald Trump after joining popular morning talkshow The View. She quit her White House gig in December 2020 due to discomfort 'with the lies about the election'. Farah Griffin was among the Trump staffers found to have pleaded with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to have Trump call off the crowd on January 6. The outspoken Republican voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, discussing her decision to do so on her talkshow. She called January 6, 2021 a 'horrific' day, but added 'that was just kind of an encapsulation of who Donald Trump, the man, is.' 'He is the person of the lowest moral character that I've ever worked for,' she said of her former boss. Farrah Griffin joined CNN as a political contributor in 2021, while also making several guest appearances on the View. This lasted throughout the year and into 2022 until she became a permanent host - joined by longtime talker Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, and Ana Navarro. During her first year as host, she told her fellow members how members of her family had boycotted her 2020 wedding to husband Justin Griffin due to their differences with Trump, but held the ceremony anyway. She won a Daytime Emmy for her work on the View last year, and is still an outspoken critic of the president-elect.
