ALLIES TURNED ENEMIES: Musk, Trump trade barbs in open war

International

IT TOOK mere hours for a friendship built on power and politics to crumble, as Elon Musk and Donald Trump gave Washington a front-row seat to their fiery fallout.

The once-strong alliance between the world’s richest man and the US president unraveled Thursday, sparking a heated exchange that has already had significant political and financial consequences.

The conflict began when Musk publicly criticized Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending bill—a key piece of legislation for the president’s second-term agenda. The billionaire’s remarks were met with swift rebuke from Trump, who expressed his disappointment during a televised Oval Office appearance.

Trump said he had “helped Elon a lot” and added that he no longer knew if their relationship could be repaired, considering the “great” relationship they had shared in the past.

Musk, who had previously been a major donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign, immediately fired back, accusing Trump of political “ingratitude.” The Tesla CEO also made an unsubstantiated claim, alleging that Trump was mentioned in government files related to convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein, a remark that added fuel to the fire.

In a report by Agence France-Press, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed Musk’s comments as a result of his dissatisfaction with the exclusion of certain policies in Trump’s spending bill. She called it an “unfortunate” episode, but it was clear that the public rift went beyond just policy disagreements.

Musk, a vocal supporter of Trump in the past, expressed frustration over his perceived lack of influence on key issues, particularly in the realm of economic policy.

The president retaliated, suggesting in a post on Truth Social that Musk could lose his government contracts, including crucial agreements for SpaceX launches and the use of Musk’s Starlink satellite network.

Trump’s threat to cut Musk’s subsidies was aimed at saving billions from the federal budget. Musk, in turn, threatened to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which plays a central role in NASA’s missions. However, he later appeared to backtrack, saying, “OK, we won’t decommission Dragon,” though his exact intentions remained unclear.

By the end of the day, the economic fallout was evident, with Tesla’s stock plummeting by over $100 billion in value. This dramatic decline, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding SpaceX’s future with the government, sent shockwaves through both the tech and political worlds. What had seemed like a stable relationship just months ago—one in which Musk supported Trump’s cost-cutting agenda and Trump offered Musk high-level access—had now fractured completely.

Despite the rapid escalation, the tensions between Musk and Trump had been brewing for some time. Musk’s brief stint in the Trump administration as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had ended after just four months, with Musk becoming increasingly frustrated by the slow pace of change and his clashes with key members of Trump’s cabinet. His criticism of the president’s spending bill, which he described as an “abomination” due to its projected impact on the national deficit, marked a major breaking point.

Looking ahead, Washington is now closely watching the fallout. Musk has posted a poll asking whether he should form a new political party, a move that could further disrupt the Republican Party and signal his readiness to challenge Trump’s hold on the GOP. On the other hand, some of Trump’s allies, including former strategist Steve Bannon, have called for Musk’s deportation, intensifying the animosity between the two.(MyTVCebu)