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The partnership between tech multibillionaire Elon Musk and President Trump appears to have hit a new breaking point.
Trump on Thursday commented on Musk and his criticism of the president’s “big beautiful” spending bill after Musk called the “pork-filled Congressional spending bill” a “disgusting abomination.” Musk last week exited the administration as a special employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Thursday, Trump said, “Elon and I have a great relationship,” but that “I don’t know if we will anymore. I was surprised, because you were here, everyone in this room practically was here as we had a wonderful sendoff. He said wonderful things about me.”
Trump said, “I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill. He never had a problem until right after he left.”
Trump said that other people who have left his administration “at some point they miss it so badly” and “some of them actually become hostile. I don’t know what it is, it’s sort of ‘Trump derangement syndrome, ‘I guess they call it,” the president said. “They wake up in the morning, the glamor is gone, the whole world is different, and they become hostile.”
Trump also asserted that “Elon is upset because we took [away] the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles. They’re having a hard time, the electric vehicles, and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy. Elon knew this from the beginning.”
Musk replied to Trump’s comments on X, his social media platform. “Whatever,” he wrote. “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 continued, “In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this! Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.”
More to come.
English (US) ·