Trump and Musk exchange insults on X and Truth Social

Vice President JD Vance said Elon Musk made a “huge mistake” going after President Donald Trump, during an interview on “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” released Saturday, according to the episode transcript.

The interview came days after Musk launched a string of attacks on Trump over a tax and spending bill, which triggered one of the most chaotic political fallouts since Trump returned to office in 2025.

Vance told Von, “I’m always going to be loyal to the president and I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold. Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear, but I hope it is.” His comment was the first time he publicly addressed Musk since the feud went viral on X, formerly Twitter.

The tension erupted Thursday when Musk trashed Trump’s bill aimed at restructuring federal spending, saying it was a betrayal of core conservative values. That criticism triggered a digital slugfest.

Musk, who helped get both Trump and Vance elected in 2024 and later took a role leading the Department of Government Efficiency, accused Trump of backstabbing him. The department, which was created to reduce government waste, failed to meet any of its goals under Musk’s watch.

Trump and Musk exchange insults on X and Truth Social

The same Thursday afternoon, Musk went off on Trump in a long post, saying, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House, and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.” He followed that by posting that Trump should be impeached and replaced with Vance.

Musk then posted another accusation, claiming Trump was hiding files connected to Jeffrey Epstein. “The president is in the Epstein files,” Musk posted. “The truth will come out.”

Musk did not provide evidence. Trump has denied any connection to Epstein’s criminal actions, and there’s been no confirmation Musk’s claim is based on anything real.

Trump responded through Truth Social, saying Musk was “wearing thin” near the end of his time as a special government employee and that he personally asked Musk to leave his administration. “I asked him to leave,” Trump wrote. Musk replied on X, calling that “an obvious lie.”

Vance also weighed in that day with a post on X backing Trump, saying he was “proud to stand beside him” and praised Trump as having “done more than anyone in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads.” That wasn’t just another endorsement—it was a direct signal that he wasn’t switching sides despite Musk’s impeachment talk.

White House tried to cool tension before podcast aired

According to someone who spoke to Vance ahead of the podcast, Trump didn’t want him to escalate things with Musk. The president told him not to fuel the fire further.

On the podcast, Vance said, “The president doesn’t think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk, and I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine.”

All this is happening less than a week after Trump and Musk were all smiles during a send-off inside the Oval Office for Musk’s exit from his government post. Musk had been brought in after the election to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, which was supposed to clean up bureaucratic waste. That plan went nowhere. The department flopped. And now Musk’s out and publicly turning on the same administration that gave him the job.

Trump says Musk flipped out because the spending bill cut electric vehicle incentives. “I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump posted. The president also said during a short Oval Office appearance on Thursday that Musk was “upset” over the loss of EV credits tied to Tesla’s bottom line.

Vance, now caught between Trump’s loyalty and Musk’s volatility, is trying to walk a tightrope without falling into the brawl himself. But his words made his position clear. Elon Musk picked a fight with the wrong person. And Vance isn’t interested in joining him.

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