Trump vs Musk.
EVERYONE saw this coming. First came their bromance and now their VERY public break-up. And it is every bit as petty, vindictive, and juicy, as their opponents always expected it would be.
But what's triggered the beef between the US President and his former Special Government Employee?
First and foremost - Musk does not like Trump’s signature 'Big, Beautiful Bill'.
In a post on X, Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination” and slammed the ones who voted for it. Reacting to Musk’s very hard and public lobbying against his precious spending bill, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that he was “very disappointed in Elon.”
According to the President, Musk was only upset with the bill because it ended tax credits for buyers of electric vehicles, a move that would hurt Tesla.
Next up, is the DOGE debacle. Musk was meant to trim the fat, as Trump believed that there were far too many departments and personnel bleeding the government coffers.
Musk took the mandate to heart, even wielding a chainsaw on stage claiming it was for the bureaucracy.
But his methods didn’t yield the results Trump wanted or needed.
Musk had said his Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE would be able to cut at least $2 trillion in federal spending.
Sadly though, DOGE themselves estimate that its efforts have saved ONLY $175 billion so far. Musk’s shock-and-awe campaign instead drew widespread outrage from federal workers and flak from even some Republicans.
After several complaints, Trump reined Musk in, declaring he needed to work with Cabinet chiefs and use a “scalpel,” not a “hatchet”. The chainsaw wasn’t seen again.
Now we get to the apparent quid pro quo between the two scorned lovers.
Over and above the $300 million that Musk spent in getting Trump elected, he had promised another $100 million to fund Trump’s political operations. Musk did not follow through, which left Trump’s team frustrated with Musk.
In what seemed like payback, Trump backtracked on his promise to nominate a close Musk ally and friend, Jared Isaacman, to be head of NASA. Given how much space policy means to Musk, the decision is said to have hit him hard, both personally and professionally.
As both try to squeeze in the last word during this epic showdown, one can be sure this isn’t over, not by a longshot.
