The relationship between Trump and Musk has reached a critical stage that will be difficult to pass, according to observers
Afrasianet - The political divergence between U.S. President Donald Trump and his former ally billionaire Elon Musk over the Republican spending bill has suddenly turned into a drop that has overflowed the cup of friendly relations and "alliance of interests" between the two men.
The public exchange between the president of the world's most powerful country and one of the most powerful tycoons in the United States quickly developed to threats of severing contracts, shocking hints of suspicious relationships, and an unprecedented call for Musk's deportation by one of Trump's most prominent allies.
What are the reasons for this public disagreement between the two allies of the recent past? What are its implications? And what are the odds of reaching the point of no return in their controversial relationship?
When did the dispute start?
Things began to spiral out of control in Trump-Musk's relations a few days ago when the latter criticized the US president's tax and spending cut bill.
Musk called the bill a "hateful evil" that would increase the federal deficit, writing in a post on platform X: "I'm sorry, but I can't stand it anymore. The massive and horrible spending bill in Congress is an abhorrent evil."
"The bill would increase the already massive budget deficit to $2.5 trillion," he said!! It burdens American citizens with unsustainable debts."
The House passed the bill last month by one vote after the Congressional Budget Office said the legislation, which would extend the 2017 tax cuts, Trump's most important legislative measure in his first term, would add $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion debt.
The bill includes trillions of dollars in tax breaks, an increase in defense spending, and allowing the U.S. government to borrow more money.
The bill, which Trump calls the "beautiful and huge law" in its current form, is expected to increase the U.S. budget deficit, the difference between government spending and revenue, by about $600 billion in the next fiscal year, according to estimates.
What did each side say about the other?
In response to Musk's criticism of the GOP-backed spending law, Trump broke his silence, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he was "disappointed."
"Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we're going to be like that anymore."
Musk, who spent nearly $300 million to support Trump and other Republicans in last year's election, responded by writing on X: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election."
Trump also threatened to "terminate government contracts" awarded to Musk, saying in a post on the Truth Social platform, "The easiest way to save billions of dollars from our budget is to eliminate government subsidies and contracts awarded to Elon."
"I was wondering why Joe Biden didn't do that. Elon was losing his status, and I told him to leave. "Regulations that forced people to buy electric cars that no one wanted, and he knew that for months, but he went crazy at the time."
Where is the escalation?
The rift between the two men escalated as Steve Bannon, Trump's former adviser, stepped on the crisis line calling for an investigation into Musk's legal status and his immediate deportation.
Bannon told the New York Times: "I firmly believe Musk is an illegal immigrant and should be deported from the country."
"You're going to bring the others back, let's start with the South Africans, right?".
Bannon cited reports that Musk worked illegally in the United States before becoming a citizen, and cited allegations of ketamine use, which he said would "warrant a federal investigation."
Bannon said Trump had given him unprecedented support, but Musk "turned on him," adding: "This is a bad person. He's incompetent, and we warned against him."
Musk, in contrast, hinted at establishing a third political party that "represents 80 percent of the middle class."
He also called for Trump's impeachment and Vice President J.D. Vance taking over from him, saying in a post on his X account that he believed Trump should be impeached and that J.D. Vance should take over the presidency in his place.
What are the direct repercussions of the escalation?
Musk's Tesla stock closed Thursday down more than 14 percent, losing about $150 billion in market value in the biggest one-day drop in value in its history.
In pre-market trading on Friday, stocks recovered some of those losses, rising 5 percent after early reports that the two men were due to speak.
Musk also announced that his company SpaceX would begin decommissioning Dragon, which is the only spacecraft in the United States capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station, attributing this to Trump's threats.
According to Bloomberg's daily ranking, Musk lost $33.9 billion, the second largest loss in the index's history, after Musk's biggest drop in November 2021.
Observers believe that the repercussions of the dispute between the world's richest person and the president of the world's most powerful country could be significant, as it could shrink Trump's political capital, while Musk could lose huge government contracts.
Pronouncements.. Towards containment or escalation?
President Trump was quoted by ABC as saying that his former ally Musk had "lost his mind" and that he was not interested in talking to him at the moment.
"Musk is the one who wants to talk to me, but I'm not yet ready to talk to him," Trump said.
The Wall Street Journal also quoted Trump advisers as saying that the president remains upset about Musk's social media attacks and that he is considering getting rid of his Tesla.
A White House official said the president was not interested in talking to Musk, and there were no plans to have contact between them today, despite efforts by White House officials to reach a calm between the two sides after a major public clash.
The two men exchanged insults on social media, and Musk went so far as to publish a post saying Trump's name was on government documents about billionaire sex convicted Jeffrey Epstein , who committed suicide in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Musk added "Happy day DJT," referring to Trump's full name, Donald John Trump.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said Musk's post about Epstein was "an unfortunate chapter by Elon who is upset with the big and beautiful bill because it doesn't include the policies he wants."
Trump vowed during his 2024 presidential campaign to disclose classified documents related to Jeffrey Epstein's case, and said in an interview with host Lex Friedman in September 2024 that he was likely to publish a "list of clients" who visited Epstein and that he would not mind releasing additional files.
Has the relationship reached the point of no return?
Observers say it is not clear how the tense relationship between the two men, which has recently seen a crisis that has caused tensions within the White House, can be repaired.
Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro, whom Musk had called "more stupid than a brick bag" during a tariff controversy, did not want to brag but noted that Musk's "shelf life" was "over."
On the other hand, some believe that the "political alliance" between the two men has already collapsed and reached the point of no return in light of the current fiery debate in which Trump threatened to strip the billionaire of huge contracts concluded with the government, and Musk's demands to permanently remove Trump from the forefront of the presidential scene.