By Aaron Pellish\Irie Sentner\Politico
Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
President Donald Trump publicly chastised Elon Musk — his onetime adviser and a major political benefactor — on Thursday, amid the Tesla CEO’s continued attempts to take down the cornerstone of Republicans’ legislative agenda.
Responding to a question about Musk’s posts during a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, Trump said he was “surprised” and “disappointed” by Musk’s attacks.
“Elon and I had a great relationship,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t know if we will anymore.” He later said he was “very disappointed in Elon” and that “I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
The comments are Trump’s first public response to Musk’s attempts to take down his marquee legislation — and the biggest crack yet in a growing feud between the president and the world’s wealthiest man. After shattering fundraising records to sweep Trump into the White House, Musk was tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency and given broad authority — with little oversight — to slash his way through the federal bureaucracy.
On Friday, the day Musk’s “special government employee” status was set to expire, Musk and Trump appeared in the Oval Office together, thanking each other for their work over the course of a friendly, nearly hourlong news conference.
Less than a week later, that relationship appears to have soured.
“He hasn’t said [anything] bad about me personally, but I’m sure that will be next,” the president said on Thursday.
Sure enough, minutes later, Musk said on X: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
