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BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump is not backing disconnected his conflict with Elon Musk, saying Saturday that helium has nary tendency to repair their narration and informing that his erstwhile state and run benefactor could look “serious consequences” if helium tries to assistance Democrats successful upcoming elections.
Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker successful a telephone interrogation that helium has nary plans to marque up with Musk. Asked specifically if helium thought his narration with the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is over, Trump responded, “I would presume so, yeah.”
“I’m excessively engaged doing different things,” Trump continued. “You know, I won an predetermination successful a landslide. I gave him a batch of breaks, agelong earlier this happened, I gave him breaks successful my archetypal administration, and saved his beingness successful my archetypal administration, I person nary volition of speaking to him.”
The president besides issued a informing amid chatter that Musk could backmost Democratic lawmakers and candidates successful the 2026 midterm elections.
“If helium does, he’ll person to wage the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC, though helium declined to stock what those consequences would be. Musk’s businesses person galore lucrative national contracts.
The president's latest comments suggest Musk is moving from adjacent state to a imaginable caller people for Trump, who has aggressively wielded the powers of his bureau to ace down connected critics and punish perceived enemies. As a large authorities contractor, Musk’s businesses could beryllium peculiarly susceptible to retribution. Trump has already threatened to chopped Musk's contracts, calling it an casual mode to prevention money.
The melodramatic rupture betwixt the president and the world's richest antheral began this week with Musk's nationalist disapproval of Trump's “big beauteous bill” pending connected Capitol Hill. Musk has warned that the measure volition summation the national shortage and called it a “disgusting abomination.”
Trump criticized Musk successful the Oval Office, and earlier long, helium and Musk began trading bitterly idiosyncratic attacks connected societal media, sending the White House and GOP legislature leaders scrambling to measure the fallout.
As the back-and-forth intensified, Musk suggested Trump should beryllium impeached and claimed without grounds that the authorities was concealing accusation astir the president’s relation with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Musk appeared by Saturday greeting to person deleted his posts astir Epstein.
Vice President JD Vance successful an interrogation tried to downplay the feud. He said Musk was making a “huge mistake” going aft Trump, but called him an “emotional guy” getting frustrated.
“I anticipation that yet Elon comes backmost into the fold. Maybe that’s not imaginable present due to the fact that he’s gone truthful nuclear,” Vance said.
Vance called Musk an “incredible entrepreneur,” and said that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which sought to chopped authorities spending and laid disconnected oregon pushed retired thousands of workers, was “really good.”
Vance made the comments successful an interrogation with “ manosphere” comedian Theo Von, who past period joked astir snorting drugs disconnected a mixed-race babe and the sexuality of men successful the U.S. Navy erstwhile helium opened for Trump astatine a subject basal successful Qatar.
The Vance interrogation was taped Thursday arsenic Musk’s posts were unfurling connected X, the societal media web the billionaire owns.
During the interview, Von showed the vice president Musk’s assertion that Trump’s medication hasn’t released each the records related to Epstein due to the fact that Trump is mentioned successful them.
Vance responded to that, saying, “Absolutely not. Donald Trump didn’t bash thing incorrect with Jeffrey Epstein.”
“This worldly is conscionable not helpful,” Vance said successful effect to different station shared by Musk calling for Trump to beryllium impeached and replaced with Vance.
“It’s wholly insane. The president is doing a bully job.”
Vance besides defended the measure that has drawn Musk's ire, and said its cardinal extremity was not to chopped spending but to widen the 2017 taxation cuts approved successful Trump's archetypal term.
The measure would slash spending and taxes but besides permission immoderate 10.9 cardinal much radical without wellness security and spike deficits by $2.4 trillion implicit the decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
“It's a bully bill," Vance said. "It's not a cleanable bill.”
The interrogation was taped successful Nashville astatine a edifice owned by instrumentalist Kid Rock, a Trump ally.
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