The Musk-Trump relationship now appears unsalvageable.
NBC News reports Trump Warns Musk of ‘Serious Consequences’ if He Backs Democrats
President Donald Trump on Saturday said there would be “serious consequences” if tech mogul Elon Musk funds Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who vote in favor of the GOP’s sweeping budget bill.
“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview, but declined to share what those consequences would be. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” he added.
The president also said he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk after a feud between the two men erupted into public view earlier this week. “No,” Trump said when asked if he had any wish to do so. Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said, “I would assume so, yeah.”
Musk on Thursday launched a barrage of posts on X against the president, including a now-deleted post highlighting the onetime links between the president and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump responded to Musk’s criticisms, telling reporters, “I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill. I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Shortly after those comments, Musk launched his flurry of posts, including a now-deleted post promoting a call for Trump to be impeached and another where he said the president’s tariff agenda would cause a recession later this year.
Trump on Thursday also responded with his own posts on Truth Social. In one post, he wrote, “I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,” suggesting that Musk knew what was in the bill before it was passed.
He also wrote on Thursday, “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” referring to federal contracts with SpaceX. “I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”
On Saturday, Trump said he hadn’t given his suggestion about canceling Musk’s companies’ federal contracts any more thought. “I’d be allowed to do that,” he said, “but I have, I haven’t given it any thought.”
During an interview on “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” that was taped on Thursday but released Saturday, Vice President JD Vance described Musk’s attacks on Trump as “nuclear” and said that it may not be possible for Musk to “come back into the fold.”
The Coward’s Way Out
Musk backed down by deleting his Tweets that tied Trump to Epstein and called for Trump’s impeachment.
He’s worried about a Tesla stock plunge and losing government contracts. It’s too late for that.
It’s better to admit mistakes and apologize, or defend them with evidence. But it’s better still to not act like a big-mouth ass in the first place.
Deleting posts and walking away is the cowards way out.
Third Political Party
Musk threatens to start a third political party. But what issues does he have that resonate with voters?
Musk is upset about not enough budget cuts. Who does that appeal to other than Libertarians?
A centrist Democrat or Republican candidate could do very well, if they could get nominated. But a new centrist party?
If no candidate gets a majority of votes in the electoral college, then the House chooses.
At Least 20 Republican Senators Want Changes to One Big Beautiful Bill
Meanwhile, please note At Least 20 Republican Senators Want Changes to One Big Beautiful Bill
It will take some wizardry or huge capitulation to thread this needle.
In the Senate, Republicans can lose at most 3 votes. I highly doubt 4 of 6 Republicans will hold firm on green energy tax credits to sink the bill.
However, there could be 4 Senators on Medicaid and there likely are 4 Senators who want demand more cuts.
The compromise would be do what you can with trading as little as possible Medicaid for totally whacking SALT.
Will House Republicans really refuse, allowing the largest tax hike in history?
My sense is the House is bluffing over SALT.
Republicans can (and should) kill Trump’s proposed no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and auto loan interest deductions.
Question of the Day
Q: Can this Leaky Boat Sail?
A: One way or another it will.
But it will not contain the chainsaw that Musk wants.
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, said the package’s aim to cut $1.5 trillion “isn’t squat, quite honestly.” And Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, has also rebuffed the cuts, saying the amount is “not going to do it.”
I know how these fights end, and it’s with capitulation by alleged deficit hawks.
What Should We Do?
The idealist Mish would scrap the bill and start all over along the lines of my May 25 post, What Should We Do to Get Government Spending Under Control?
That’s the question I was asked today. 12 Ideas.
The pragmatic Mish would settle out of court right now for $2.0 trillion in cuts despite the fact such a bill would still add to the deficit.
My prediction: $1.7 trillion in cuts, up from $1.5 trillion, not at all beautiful, but definitely big. Much less would not be surprising.
“Musk threatens to start a third political party. But what issues does he have that resonate with voters?” How about not fueling inflation by adding trillions to the national debt? Musk took a serious axe to spending and we commend him for that. Opposing a royal Presidency is another. Adhering to the Constitution. Name it The Constitutional Party and I’ll be the first to join.
The Constitution Party already exists. Like the LP, no one votes for it because they don’t offer free stuff, don’t want to bomb folks overseas, don’t want a police state at home, and generally expect adults to be adults and take care of themselves. They’re just wacko, don’t ya’ know.
No kings!
There are no illegals on stolen land. The Reconquista.
Trump is a paper tiger ~~~ hence the name “TACO”
Musk can eat him alive in any debate, on any topic.
Except, Musk is not in the Epstein report 54 times. Trump wins on that score! 54 – 0
And Musk will be able to get those rare earth magnets in china to manufacture his cars in China and parts for the U.S. market while the U.S. manufacturers and our defense contractors suck mud because of trumps idiocy.
Although Musks association with taco child has alienated many formerly loyal buyers and the MAGA cult will never buy an EV.
Good thing for Space X, X (twitter) and Starlink!
When Republican strategists look back on it, they’ll say, “Why did we make those cuts at the VA?”
We voters will eventually forget the chainsaw……but we’ll never forget the cuts.
See ya at the midterms!
But it was spray painted gold!
Soooooooooo special! 🙂
Musks impact on federal spending is disappearing. Many DOGE cuts and firings are already being reversed in many cases.
For example, entire departments of highly skilled employees who were responsible for “drug approvals”, or “weather forecasting”, are now being “rehired” if they are still available. Someone finally clued in that they were eliminating some very essential services.
Too many folks fail to understand that many governments programs are both important and essential. They fall for the cult narrative that “everything that government does is useless”. Such blanket statements are too often believed by cult morons. And repeated by the very politicians that also are part of government.
As for the fued between Musk and Trump: I love it.
What a show!
The NOAA firings were remarkable for their impact on Hurricane prediction accuracy. Imagine our oil industry without being able to know when to shut down rigs and essential infrastructure.
Trump is always a shit show but Musk knew better than to get involved with him.
anyone who thought Trump and Musk were gonna cut a shekel from spending have to be intoxicated on ketamine or stupidity or naive as all fuck. watching the white trash lovers spat live on social media is hysterical. i think CIA already reached out to the bastard maker to remind him who is in charge. he took down the epstein reference already. he’s a pussy of course. he ain’t going to china or russia for refuge.
or did he
By the time you throw in lawyers/ rehire lost of productivity / training rehires / it probably cost less just to keep them on.
– The Musk, Trump relationship now appears unsalvageable. > Well it appears as though it took 1 1/2 Days to end that fake brouhaha… President Trump AND Elon Musk both seem to be moving on after their “GINNED UP DISCUSSIONS”
Of course as is typical Democrat “Play Book” Strategy: “Never Waste A Second” When a situation is “Created” to “FUND RAISE”
Don’t get your panties in a twist, but this all plays like a reality TV script. I.e., scripted. Plenty of scenarios why this so called split could be useful. OMG we’re being played! Yeah welcome to the fun house.
Musk should pull the plug on Starlink for Ukraine and end the war instantly.
Becoming another trump sycophant has cost Musk immensely. Not only did he lose credibility among his brands buyers here is the US, he lost 50% of sales in Europe and almost all sales in China.
He should have given some thought to how things worked our for Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pence or dozens of other trump sycophants that took massive hits to their finances or freedom.
Trump is the American pariah and is taking us down one day at a time.
Musk was a whole lot smarter than that. He didn’t join network, but rather an outside piece of it. He used His Skill Sets to uncover a momentous amount of, shall we say, “Questionable Spending”, with “Questionable Money” and on “Questionable Pursuits” He was applauded for that by many/most.
The EV thing was a created situation, that gained paid legs to run with, and at a time when anything goes was enacted, and still exist (Hence 20% Approvals) today. Problem is, the only ones buying it, are the ones shilling and being paid for it. Even some of them are wising up, and backtracking. Heck, many have already left the party…
Musk is losing sales in China, to a more popular, lower priced, better vehicle being “Built In China”
Musk is losing sales in Europe, due to the EU and Europe overall, being flat broke, Illegal Immigration, Winter coming, and no NG pipeline or oil reserves, to name just one of many major issues affecting Europe right now.
Musk is doing just fine, as one of the Richest People on the Planet…
Of course he is doing fine financially, but all over Europe there are train stations and bus stops with placards that say “Tesla ~~~ 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds” because of Musks association with trump. Not exactly how I would want to have my company compared to. Europes stock markets are roaring and BYD is in fact taking huge amounts of market share from Tesla.
Oh well, I still love my commercial Starlink internet. It is screamingly fast and reliable. That business is not going away any time soon.
The Tesla Model Y was again the best-selling electric car model in Europe in 2024… JS
Keep us updated on those yearly totals each year TIA
MUSK IS A LOSER IN LIFE. WHITE TRASH.
Put an airtight upper limit on federal debt the Fed can hold on its balance sheet, and everybody involved in the current budget circus would start behaving much more responsibly.
Add felonies to US Code for raising over the limit. That would speed compliance.
Block Grants don’t allow for that to occur.
I think/agree we should do, As Mish pointed out, “Block Grants” so no debt to worry about. It’s sort of a forced balance budget approach, but still up to them what to spend it on.
However, it’s also a “Transparent” approach, so they best spend it wisely, and on the things the electorate are asking for, or maybe not be involved in the next budget negotiations…
“I know how these fights end, and it’s with capitulation by alleged deficit hawks.”
The COVID bailouts were a bailout of a financial system that is overloaded with debt. They stopped the system from imploding, but now the price level is 30% higher.
The question is, if the economy has been so good the last few years, why are they keeping up the enormous deficit spending?
What would the economy look like without the deficit spending? That’s why it won’t end.
the last time Repugs were deficit hawks was the 1930s. my god you folks are naive. Raygun was a wild deficit dove…………FFS kids. get a reality check.
Reality? That’s so pre-birtherism
Well, you don’t have to go back that far. Ike, who even warned us about the MIC*, managed a very prosperous economy and balanced the budget, too.
*but his role here was ironically tragic: the U-2 flights that occurred during his term revealed the USSR to be a far lesser threat than earlier thought, but managed instead to inflame them and triggered immense military spending on both sides that continues to be ruinous for both.
And one of the worst aspects, never reported, is that each dollar of inflationary deficit spending, which is counted as a dollar of fresh GDP, since it is spent on some form of goods or services, competes against and crowds out more productive spending by the private sector. What would the economy look like without it is the wrong question: Venezuela is in the toilet, but its stock market, in local currency numbers, is the envy of the world.
The articles of confederation of 1770s was a peaceful pact to help each other against the King. The constitutional convention was a coup and a suicide pact. They lied about unanimous of the confederation. And the suicide aspect was you were NOT allowed to leave. And if you did threaten to leave you were killed off. Andrew Jackson and Lincoln did enforce the suicide pact. And of course 99% of modern amerikans are too dense and naive and bootlickers they cannot even comprehend any of this. we are lurching back to the pre civil war era. peacefully mostly. some skirmeshes here and there like jan 6th. but west coast will keep nullifying as will the deep south. states will issue currency in paper or crypto. we’ll have a central gov. but be much weaker. all empires run their course.
Intriguing. Except that if Trump doesn’t pull the plug on our Ukraine proxy war soon, it’s likely to escalate into nuclear war because Russia will – under no circumstances – be driven out of the Ukraine. They view that as leading to their vivisection. It doesn’t matter if Americans believe the Ukraine proxy war was aimed at Russia’s destruction. Russians believe it, and that’s what matters. That why Obama said Ukraine was existential for Russia, but not for the US.
i agree.
As recently as 1912 Britain was still building defenses against a French invasion- so it is hardly surprising that Lincoln, less than 50 years since Britain had literally torched Washington, D.C., was fearful about what might happen if the Union were allowed to fall. This was much more an issue to him than the abolition of slavery, and he came out and said so.
Tro nald Dump can rot in hell. Elon – yea baby.. keep up the fight against tyranny an run away spending that only helps the low life trumpeteers , getting rich by screwing the truly great americans. Elon is more for common americans and common people everywhere.
Hush, Elon.
Well, it wouldn’t be a great reality show without heated conflicts, eh? Will we see the return of Omarosa? Does she have video of a naked Trump snorting coke off Hunter Biden’s hairy chest? Tune in next week!
As i stated in another post everyone in trumps orbit gets crushed/ destroyed etc eventually. This is not in a vacuum. This is an old plan with a new twist. Other world leaders are learning the game. You think its funny wait till this type of politics trickles down to the state and local level. When laws are bent and broken that affect you directly. .
I’d like to stop hearing trump voters trying to compare this level of corruption and incompetence to Biden or any other modern Democrat. They are not comparable and it just comes off as an effort of trying to dodge culpability. You voted for this crap. Nobody says Biden was perfect or whatever but stop trying to normalize this crap by pretending it’s the same, it’s not.
trump voters are morons. like biden voters. ameriikans are morons and grifters. evil empire symptoms of decades of arrogance and ignorance. a bad combo. but we have seen this in history.
Just the fact of Trump stopping the death and suffering and SA/trafficking at the border is reason enough to tolerate any and all of his shenanigans and corruption in light of what came before from the left. At least Trump’s corruption is in plain view which means that each time he gets reelected at least people know what they’re signing up for. Most people have no idea about all the corruption of the Biden Administration, and it wasn’t just his personal grift.
Repping the cro-mag brand well
I think the Autopen Administration was every bit as corrupt and incompetent this one, especially since the media gave them cover, but I agree that that’s not an excuse to Trumpian incompetence, and it’s gross. Hopefully there’ll be enough GOP senators to sink the Big Bad Boondoggle. I’m on Musk’s side.
If they were as corrupt as Trump, why has Trump not found any Biden corruption to indict? Maybe he is just too busy being corrupt?
The Dulles Brothers were stealing the country while Truman was counting postage stamps and Eisenhower was on the golf course looking like someone’s grandfather.
Ike lost a bit of moxy after they whacked Patton. Did I just say that out loud? Oh dear. Then we circle back to his farewell address.
What is dangerous is that this President gets away with serious misconduct and threatens an American citizen for speaking an opinion!!! A threat like this is illegal. Trump has become a complete embarrassment to me.
Sometimes our vote doesn’t work out the way we hoped.
You were warned….
Elections have consequences…
I miss the days when erections have consequences,
WJC
Trump should not be the embarrassment, those 70M that voted for him should be. Trump is mentally ill and cannot help himself. The 70M voters and 90M who did not vote are the problem. Hopefully those that are intelligent enough to learn from this will be a lot more thoughtful in the future, if we have one.
But they said Biden did the same thing /s
The telling story here is that Trump is terrified of Musk enough to issue threats. So maybe Musk did really help Trump win the election. If true then Musk has the resources to put non-Republicans into office across the board.
And when I say resources it goes far beyond money. Tech controls many narratives on social media now and almost all aspects of people’s lives. If Musk can convince Zuck, the crypto kings and AI folks to dethrone repubs I think it can happen fairly easily.
Even more dangerous is if Musk partners with china or russia to do it.
Got exit strategy?
It is my thoughts if you look deep enough into the election you will find very targeted social media. For those couple of points he got in demographics that usually dont vote republican.
He absolutely helped Trump. Never mind the 100 plus million he spent in the campaign, just think about his buying of twitter and turning it from a leftish propaganda tool into the wild west that it is now. That alone probably changed as many votes as the 100 million helping specific candidates did.
My guess is Musk helped candidates he felt were fiscally conservative and now he’s mad they aren’t.
musk would be a moron to believe any R would be fiscally conservative. but alas money doesn’t provide wisdom. musk just a cunning little bitch. and bastard maker. shit human being. just spawns bastards.
trump issues threats against pip squeaks like singers and jocks. it’s what he does. musk the druggie white trash was just a piggy bank for Taco boy. musk has zero friends. he’s a freak and bastard maker.
At least we’re not looking like complete buffoons on the world stage. s/
I stopped caring eons ago what the rest of the world thinks about us. all their citizens would still swim through shark-infested waters to get here if it were an option for them.
Consequences are threatened “if He Aids Democrats”: the goal posts and conditions can be slightly adjusted (as with Musk’s deleting some comments), but I would be amazed if this could be fully walked back from either side. “A word once said cannot be whistled back again.” How much more true it is now, than in Horace’s days, though Trump has a historically anomalous ability to pivot and dodge and reverse prior statements, with that “wall of noise” approach (and the pliability of his fans).
I know at least 10 retired cops/firemen/citizens who are on full disability and able to work the SYSTEM and yet now WORK in reality. Medicaid needs to be fixed.
I know one ex-cop who is “disabled” collecting benefits for years. Spends all day at the gym clowning around. No one has been able to figure out what his “disability” is either. Ironically, he’s a big Trump fan too.
i knew a scam fake doctor who would get all his. blue collar pals an their pals…….of his on disability…….starting back in the 80s. he croaked, but must have done it for hundreds. he made bank. a great grifter. fake doc degrees…………….for the cops fireman and union construction types…………..nyc
So did you report him, as a good citizen would?
It definitely does.
But the cops already have this racket cornered without the disability part needed. A cop I play hockey with retired 2 years ago and started his pension. After 2 years he is eligible to be hired back at full pay AND continue to collect his pension. Which is he doing (he’s too old to do real police work but he’s not to old to be the on campus cop for a public school). It’s crazy that he’s making 200K a year now in ‘retirement’.
he’s a whore. like most cops. the only honest cop is on the take to the mob.
Hey man, they’re “heroes”. “First Responders” Mortgage companies give them special deals.
when i want to abuse my brother, a nam vet, or tons of pals of mine retired nypd and fdny, i say “thank you for your service” in a mocking LOL. they get it. especially the Nam vets. it’s all bullshit. big grifters and lots of stupidity. many dumb men get a little bit of wisdom as they hit dotage years. sat on beaches in summers on long island with tons of FDNY who retired in their early 40s……….with plush benefits………
“Trump Threatens Musk with ‘Serious Consequences’ if He Aids Democrats.” Truly the thoughts/words/actions of a leader, not unlike Marcus Aurelius, who values fairness, equity for all (NOT DEI), the opportunity for every citizen to improve his station in life and embrace the “American dream,” but, above all, integrity.
I’ve voted for that clown three times. And, yes, things ARE that bad.
What choice did we have? The ruling class (via lawfare and media propaganda) gave us the choice of a truly evil Dem candidate or Trump. No matter who you vote for, a big-government neocon is what you get.
(And giving you that vote makes you feel like you’ve endorsed what happens. A cunning trick that makes people say “our democracy,” signaling that yes, they are sheep.)
Where is the SECon muskrat buying rethuglicans? A nd trump
How much more embarrassing for the US can this get?
This is not MAGA. Taking us toward global warfare, spending tons of money on defense and pushing these tariffs globally! It’s embarrassing.
Well there is always a default on treasuries. Trump has already hinted at that happening if you’ve been paying attention…
that would be great. trump will default on the Tbills owned by foreign entities. this ain’t really anything new in history of finance. FDR and Nixon already defaulted on the dollar.
The majority of Treasuries are owned by Americans. When default arrives, it’ll hit everyone. An IRA with $300k will turn into $100k overnight, while prices are shooting upward. The best plan is to die before that happens. Or go for Plan B retirement: Life Without Parole.
that is a known known. rates go up and many folks would be better off. i did business in russia in 90s. had an oligarch pal. many get crushed, but many make out great in devaluations and defaults.
But ultimately, he will do the TACO maneuver.
I wonder how all the MAGA supporters would have reacted if Biden had said that there would be serious consequences if Musk supported Republicans or Trump?
Everyone needs to analyze statements and actions as if they were done in reverse to the candidate, officeholder, party, or policy that they support. It doesn’t matter if you personally agree with the effects. I don’t like almost all of Trump’s executive orders but I would be much more accepting if Congress actually passed a law establishing the policy attempted by the executive order. I don’t like dictates.
Bullies like Trump should just be ignored. Since he can’t be punched in the nose, the best alternative is to just walk away.
Musk doesn’t need anything from Trump. The tax credit doesn’t make that much difference for the monied class.
If Trump wants to cut his nose off to spite his face by going after SpaceX, then there is nothing anyone can do. This will just hurt the USA and give China more room to do what we should have been doing over the past decades, which is build a Big Beautiful space station and a Big Beautiful Moon Base.
Angry little fat man, making angry little fat man threats.
Money rules the government, and Elon has more than anyone. Angry little fat man is about to find out what it means to be the guy with a lot less money in this conflict.
Elon’s money is overmatched by the defense contractors’ money and influence on Congress. That’s why the “defense” budget keeps going up – contrary to Elon’s wishes.
very true. the CIA is also self funding through their own private businesses. drug dealing and also basic businesses around globe. the empire is crumbling though and even the spooks and the MICC will get sold off by their own thieves. like the end of USSR. been there. done that. my great pal was an oligarch banker and introduced me to oligarchs in 90s. the flag officers there made bank selling off the empire.
I keep hearing about 1.5trillion in cuts, or 1.7T or 2.0T..
Question… is that next year, or over 10 years…
I’m guessing it’s over 10 years, an important detail always left out…
And if it’s over 10 years, will it really happen…
Over 10 years.
But the bill adds new tax cuts that allegedly expire in a few years just like the original TCJA.
In a few years, republicans will call them a tax hike. It’s all budget bullshit!
We need $1.7T deficit reduction EVERY YEAR!
Politicians always talk about 10-year budget spending/cuts when they want their actual small numbers to look bigger.
OTOH, with something like the defense budget, no one ever talks in 10 year numbers because saying that we will be spending $10T on defense over the next 10 years (primarily for the benefit of the MIC) doesn’t sound very positive!
True, but if the “defense” budget went up by just 3% each year, $1T in year one would be $11.46T over ten years. And Trump wants to spend >$1.0T in year one. Also, only 3% inflation is optimistic.
it’s 10 years. meaning it’s all bullshit. i still find it humorous that there are grown men that still believe republicans are fiscal conservatives. FFS raygun was a crack head with the spending. you fools who thought any shekel would be actually cut from budgets must be smoking crack too.
TACO have proved that his bark is much more than his bite. No doubt, musk is “shaking in his boots” at the idle threat.
Trump can cancel his contracts. More likely, he insists the Senate not restore the energy credits that Musk wants.
Musk can basically shut down America’s space program though. It was stupid to rely on oligarchs for national security.
80% of worldwide space launches last year were done by SpaceX. Without SpaceX, Russia and China would have to pick up the slack.
we landed on moon in 1969. i think we’ll all live without spaceX
ps. i worked at NASA in 80s for a short spell.
Did you work at the Boeing Center by chance?
TACO boy won’t do jack shit.