President Trump and Elon Musk Continue to Trade Barbs Online

What Happened?

Following billionaire Elon Musk’s criticisms of the Trump Administrations budget bill, President Trump and Elon Musk are having a public falling out. While President Trump described his current budget proposal as a ‘big, beautiful bill’, Elon Musk characterized the bill as ‘a disgusting abomination.’

Since then, the public feud between the two billionaires has continued to escalate, pitting the world’s most powerful man against the world’s richest man. President Trump has threatened to pull Musk’s government contracts and Mr. Must has threatened to release information he claims will connect President Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. 

Why it Matters

The public spat between President Trump and Mr. Musk has a number of potential implications. For President Trump, the rift with such a powerful former ally could jeopardize the passage of the current budget bill, which would in turn likely have ramifications for the 2026 mid-term elections. For Elon Musk, the potential loss of U.S. government contracts when his business empire has already taken several hits due to his role in the Department of Government Efficiency could be damaging.

Mr. Musk’s influence on social media outlets, including X, could allow him to persuade both Senators and their constituents who are already on the fence about President Trump’s budget bill to turn against it. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky already publicly said at least four Senators have strong objections to the bill. And it would only take seven Republicans voting against it to defeat the legislation in the Senate, which would be a major embarrassment for President Trump.

Meanwhile President Trump’s authority as chief executive of the U.S. government could allow him to cancel the contracts Mr. Musk has with NASA, which are worth billions of dollars. According to records, Space X has been receiving over three billion dollars a year in federal funding for the past five years, which interestingly was never analyzed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Mr. Musk’s falling out with President Trump would also seem to signal the end of DOGE, which despite a long list of cuts and firings has not managed to slow down federal spending. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office determined the Trump Administration’s budget bill would add at least $2.4 trillion in debt, an analysis more in line with Mr. Musk’s assessment than President Trump’s. DOGE claims to have cut $180 billion from the federal budget, which even if true would be dwarfed by the amount of debt the new budget bill would add.

How it Affects You

The passage of the Trump Administrations sweeping budget legislation is not a political certainty. Although the bill may end up passing the Senate, major changes are likely which could alter many of the provisions of the mammoth legislation. Mr. Musk and President Trump have a number of ways they can inflict damage on the other, though it is also possible the feud could end as quickly as it began.