By Armin Sijamić
The relationship between US President Donald Trump and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, now transcends the personal level. A friendly relationship has turned into a clash, and everything is at stake, from personal reputation to politics that received 77 million votes last November.
When Musk joined the campaign to help Trump, it was a globally important event, although there were similar examples of wealthy people supporting American politicians. When Trump decided to give Musk a free hand to do what he thought was necessary within the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), many believed that American state institutions would never be the same. But when Musk accuses Trump of having ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and calls for his impeachment, then words run out to describe the importance of such an event.
Trump and Musk became much more than political allies, and many were shocked by the billionaire's influence on the American president. Musk also used the White House to promote his own ideas, thoughts, and settle scores with opponents.
But things went wrong, and yesterday was filled with Musk's posts against Trump on the social network X, which he owns. Musk published dozens of posts and shared as many posts from other users, while Trump responded several times elsewhere.
From personal relationships to politics
Musk now claims that his nominal former boss had ties to the infamous Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019, a person involved in decades of child sexual abuse, and who hosted many famous and influential Americans and their guests from Europe and the world. "It's time for a really big bomb to drop," he wrote on X, adding that Trump "is in Epstein's files. That's the real reason they haven't been released yet." He then published old, publicly known footage from a 1992 party attended by Trump and Epstein. Trump had previously said he had no connection to Epstein and would release documents related to the case, which did not reach a court verdict, upon coming to power.
No one expected such a development in the relationship between these two, as they parted ways politely last week, immortalizing it with a meeting at the White House when Musk ceased to be part of DOGE but made himself available to the Trump administration. Musk left Trump due to the proposed state budget that increases state spending, believing it leads to a deficit of $2.5 trillion. Since last night, Musk claims this is the path to debt slavery and bankruptcy for the United States.
Musk's support for Trump is gone. In a poll on X, which was viewed by over thirty million people in four hours, he asks users if it is "time to create a new party in America that will actually represent the 80 percent in the middle," referring to the rest of the population who, by conviction, do not belong to Democrats or Republicans.
Musk has like-minded individuals among important Republicans regarding his views on the budget and debt, including some who will vote on Trump's proposals in Congress. These are precisely the ones who could be of interest to Musk and Trump in the coming days. Those who oppose Trump could count on Musk's support, which is very important in the context of their personal conflict.
Social media users last night tried to determine who started this showdown. As things stand, Trump was the first from the White House to accuse Musk of not opposing the proposed budget and of being aware of it, and that he has some kind of nostalgia for no longer being part of his team, which has turned him into an opponent of his policies.
Trump's response and Republican fears
Trump did not let Musk's attacks go unanswered. He threatened Musk with the termination of state funding for his companies, which are entrusted with complex tasks, for example, for NASA. "The easiest way to save billions and billions of dollars in the budget is to cut off Elon's government subsidies and contracts," Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social. On Thursday, Tesla's stock value fell by fourteen percent, and Musk, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, lost $34 billion of his wealth, which is estimated at $334 billion.
Trump continued with personal disqualifications of his former associate, saying among other things that he had gone mad. Others also joined the discussion. Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon stated that Musk should be deported, asking the Trump administration to address the immigration status of the world's richest man, whom he suspects of being an illegal immigrant.
Musk's position is much easier compared to Trump's, excluding the economic losses he is suffering. He is now undermining Trump's policies, claiming that the tariffs he recently imposed on all countries will lead to a recession in the United States in the second half of this year.
Musk's statements about tariffs, the budget, and Epstein also raise other questions, which some have been warning about for months. Namely, the question is what kind of data Musk obtained through DOGE, using his best software and experts to review everything that could be reviewed and thus determine which costs should be cut.
The conflict Musk has entered into could cost him a lot, but even more so Trump and the United States, especially when it comes to the image of the world's greatest power. Looking at their discussion from Thursday, it's hard to imagine anyone wanting such a conversational partner in serious business. Some Republicans, after hours of difficult exchanges, called on Musk via social media to stop.
Musk has opened a front that Trump doesn't need, threatening to break the unity of Republicans and those who supported the idea they jointly represented in the elections. In just a few hours, Musk accused the president of the country of ties to a pedophile, called for his impeachment, and attacked his key policies. No one can predict how this conflict will unfold. In the short term, the only winner could be the American Democrats. They will be asking themselves these days, and they have spoken about it with fear before, what will remain of the United States after Trump's second term.
Komentari (0)
Prijavite se za komentiranje
PrijavaJos nema komentara. Budite prvi!
Minuta
Sve →Iz drugih kategorija
High Representative Not Elected: Germans, French and British Sabotaged Americans, New Attempt at End of June
ČOVIĆ WITHOUT MERCY: How Those Who Brought Ademović to Office Created a Political Hell for Him
Sunny Saturday, quite warm
Tragedy in Albanian resort: Two minors drown
