Trump refuses to speak with Musk amid tax bill feud

REUTERS/NATHAN HOWARD/FILE PHOTO

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 30. Trump is not interested in talking with Elon Musk, a White House official said today, signaling the president and his former ally might not resolve their feud over a sweeping tax-cut bill any time soon.

WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump is not interested in talking with Elon Musk, a White House official said today, signaling the president and his former ally might not resolve their feud over a sweeping tax-cut bill any time soon.

The White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no phone call between Trump and the Tesla CEO was planned for the day. Earlier, a different White House official had said the two were going to talk.

In interviews with several U.S. media outlets, Trump said he was focused on other matters.

“I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem, the poor guy’s got a problem,” he told CNN.

Trump may get rid of the red Tesla Model S that he bought in March after showcasing Musk’s electric cars on the White House lawn, the official said.

Musk, for his part, did not directly address Trump but kept up his criticism of the massive Republican tax and spending bill that contains much of Trump’s domestic agenda.

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On his social-media platform X, Musk amplified remarks made by others that Trump’s “big beautiful bill” would hurt Republicans politically and add to the nation’s $36.2 trillion debt. He replied “exactly” to a post by another X user that said Musk had criticized Congress and Trump had responded by criticizing Musk personally.

The White House statements came one day after the two men battled openly in an extraordinary display of hostilities that marked a stark end to a close alliance. During the exchange, Trump suggested he would terminate government contracts with Musk’s businesses, which include rocket company SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink.

Tesla shares rose today, managing to claw back some steep losses from the previous session when it dropped 14% and lost $150 billion in value, the largest single-day decline in the company’s history.

Musk’s high-profile allies have largely stayed silent during the feud. But one, investor James Fishback, called on Musk to apologize.

“President Trump has shown grace and patience at a time when Elon’s behavior is disappointing and frankly downright disturbing,” Fishback said in a statement.

Musk, the world’s richest man, bankrolled a large part of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head up a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.

Trump feted Musk at the White House a week ago as he wrapped up his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk cut only about

half of 1% of total spending, far short of his brash plans to axe $2 trillion from the federal budget.

Since then, Musk has denounced Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination.” His opposition is complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress where Republicans hold a slim majority.

Trump’s bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives last month and is now before the Senate, where Republicans say they will make further changes. Nonpartisan analysts say the measure would add $2.4 trillion in debt over 10 years.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he has been texting with Musk and hopes the dispute is resolved quickly.

“I don’t argue with him about how to build rockets and I wish he wouldn’t argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it,” Johnson said on CNBC.

‘VERY DISAPPOINTED’

Trump had initially stayed quiet while Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, but broke his silence on Thursday, telling reporters he was “very disappointed” in Musk.

The pair then traded barbs on their social media platforms. Musk, who spent nearly $300 million in last year’s elections, said Trump would have lost without his support.

Musk also asserted that Trump’s signature import tariffs would push the U.S. into a recession and responded “Yes” to a post on X saying Trump should be impeached. That would be highly unlikely given Trump’s Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Musk’s SpaceX plays a critical role in the U.S. government’s space program. When Trump posted that he might cancel Musk’s contracts, the billionaire responded he would begin decommissioning SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, the only U.S. spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station. Later, Musk backed off that threat.

In a sign of a possible detente, Musk subsequently wrote: “You’re not wrong” in response to billionaire investor Bill Ackman saying Trump and Musk should make peace.

A prolonged feud could make it harder for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections if Musk withholds financial support or other major Silicon Valley business leaders distance themselves from Trump.

Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending, and on Tuesday, he called for “all politicians who betrayed the American people” to be fired next year.

His involvement with the Trump administration has provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites, driving down sales while investors fretted that Musk’s attention was too divided.

Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Alexandra Ulmer and Jarrett Renshaw.

See more:National newsPolitics

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