Oh, how the tables have turned. Once known as the “First Buddy” to President Donald Trump, Former Senior Advisor Elon Musk has left the Trump Administration and subsequently, his role at the White House.
His departure has led to an explosion of angry tweets online, peaking on June 5, 2025, when Trump threatened to cut Musk’s government contracts. Musk responded by claiming that the White House “hasn’t released all the records related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them,” according to PBS News. The Trump Administration left no further comment.
This public feud came as a surprise to many, as Musk has been a seemingly strong pillar of the Trump administration over the last year.
Musk publicly announced his support for Trump’s campaign in July of 2024 after the President’s first assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. He was then seen with Trump nearly everywhere, cheering and jumping for joy at most of his rallies. He often boasted MAGA propaganda and remained a close ally of Trump on social media. The two were highly complimentary of one another and publicly showed their support for each other’s endeavors and careers.
“I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man,” Musk tweeted in February 2025.
So, how did this feud begin, and why did they break up in the first place?
On May 28, 2025, White House officials announced Musk’s exit. He reported accomplishing less than was desired during his time under Trump’s administration and expressed disappointment in several of Trump’s new policies and hopes for legislation, including Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
This bill is a “tax bill” proposed by Trump in May 2025. Its goal is to perpetuate Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and Jobs Act, as well as increase tax deductions for small businesses. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it’s expected to increase the national debt by nearly $2.4 trillion in the next 10 years.
The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in May. It will likely be voted on by the Senate during June of 2025.. While the bill was initially received well by Senators, following Musk’s social media attacks, it has lost plenty of traction, with two senators are already expected to vote against passing it.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk told CBS.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) played a key role in Musk’s efforts during his time under the Trump campaign. He was appointed to lead DOGE in November 2024, where he desired to save over $2 trillion in federal spending, but cut that goal to $150 billion. It’s safe to assume these goals fell through, as there is little evidence to support government savings under Musk’s leadership.
In leaving DOGE, Musk claims to be prioritizing his efforts towards his company, Tesla. He said his role in Trump’s administration was always meant to be temporary.
Trump held an official sendoff for his former advisor on May 30, 2025, thanking Musk for all he had done throughout Trump’s campaign and for his help.
“Elon gave an incredible service. There’s nobody like him, and he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he’s an incredible patriot,” said Trump. “I think he’s fantastic. I think Elon is a fantastic guy,” he said.
Shortly after this, however, Trump and Musk both fled to social media, exchanging a slew of threatening messages.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote on his social media platform, X. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
Trump responded by saying he was “…very disappointed with Elon,” in a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He later posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, “Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ …and he just went CRAZY!”
Musk had attacked Trump directly, stating he wouldn’t have won the election without Musk’s help. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” he wrote on X. “Such ingratitude.”
When Trump threatened to cut ties with Musk’s platforms, Musk responded with claims about the Epstein files. “Time to drop the really big bomb,” he wrote on X, “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.”
“Have a nice day, DJT!” he signed off. While it’s been publicized that Trump and Epstein knew each other, there has been no evidence supporting Trump’s involvement with the files. However, it is true that the Trump Administration has not released them all.
On the afternoon of June 5, Musk also posted that he would be cutting funding toward SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, a ship intended to transport astronauts between Earth and the International Space Station. After an uninvolved X account responded to Musk with, “This is a shame this back and forth. You are both better than this. Cool off and take a step back for a couple days,” he took back his words.
As of now, Trump has had the final word. “I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem,” he told CNN. “No. I won’t be speaking to him for a while, I guess, but I wish him well.”
