Trump ‘Very Disappointed’ After Elon Musk Called Him ‘Ingrate’
…Trump Would Have Lost Election Without Me, Says Musk
President Donald Trump expressed disappointment in tech billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday after he publicly attacked the administration’s flagship budget bill.
Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, Trump said he was “very surprised” and “very disappointed” by Musk’s outspoken criticism of the tax and spending bill.
“Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump said.
The president’s comments come in response to a series of social media posts from Musk, who left his post as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) just last week.
Musk has called the budget bill a “disgusting abomination” and shamed lawmakers who supported it. He also took to his X account to accuse Trump of “such ingratitude”, writing, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election.”
Musk was appointed to lead deep cuts in federal spending and spearheaded the closure of multiple agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
While he claims to have saved $180bn during his brief tenure, critics say the figure is inflated and falls short of his promised $2trn in cuts.
Despite having celebrated Musk’s departure just days earlier with a symbolic golden key ceremony on May 30, Trump now finds himself publicly clashing with his former appointee.
“We are doing things in that bill that are unbelievable. Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here. All of a sudden, he had a problem,” Trump told reporters.
The budget bill passed the House with support from most Republicans, though it faced resistance from a minority of the Republican lawmakers and unanimous opposition from Democrats.
Trump ‘Very Disappointed’ After Elon Musk Called Him ‘Ingrate’ is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
