Trump says Musk disrespected the presidency

President Donald Trump told NBC News on Saturday that Elon Musk will face “very serious consequences” if he throws money behind Democrats challenging Republicans who backed his budget plan.

“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump said. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.”

This came as the two men’s breakup exploded into public view. Trump confirmed he doesn’t plan to make up with Musk, saying bluntly, “No,” when asked if he’d try to fix things.

When asked whether their relationship is now done, he said, “I would assume so, yeah.” Just months ago, Musk was part of the administration. Now Trump is threatening him with punishment over political donations.

Their public fight started earlier in the week on social media. Trump posted attacks on Truth Social, and Musk fired back on X. But the real tension started before that when Musk slammed the GOP-led spending bill that passed the House last month. Trump is backing the bill and trying to push it through the Senate before July 4.

Trump says Musk disrespected the presidency

In a follow-up question about their broken relationship, Trump said he’s too busy to even think about talking to Musk. “I’m too busy doing other things,” he said. “I have no intention of speaking to him.” But he also made it clear this isn’t just about money or politics—it’s personal.

“I think it’s a very bad thing because he’s very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President,” he said. That accusation came after Musk posted and later deleted several attacks on X, including one that pointed to old allegations linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump brushed it off:

“That’s called ‘old news,’ that’s been old news, that has been talked about for years. Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it.”

The blowup escalated when Trump, from the Oval Office, said on Thursday he was “very disappointed” in Musk, who he claimed knew the full details of the budget bill. “I’ve helped Elon a lot,” he added. Shortly after that, Musk fired off a string of now-deleted posts, one calling for Trump to be impeached and another warning that his tariff policy would cause a recession later in the year.

Trump then took to Truth Social, writing: “I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago.” He also claimed that Musk already knew what was in the budget and waited too long to criticize it. But his most aggressive shot was aimed at Musk’s government deals.

“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump posted. “I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”

Trump denies investigations, still backs bill

On Saturday, when asked if he planned to cancel any of Musk’s federal contracts, Trump said, “I’d be allowed to do that, but I have, I haven’t given it any thought.” The warning still stands, but Trump isn’t confirming if he’ll actually follow through.

There are louder voices outside the White House pushing for more. Steve Bannon, a longtime ally, has been calling for federal investigations into Musk’s immigration record and business activities. But when asked about it, Trump said he hasn’t had those discussions: “I mean it’s not something that’s on top of my mind right now.”

Even with the clash playing out across headlines, Trump dismissed the idea that it could hurt his spending bill. He told NBC he was “very confident” the bill would pass in the Senate by July 4. “The Republican Party has never been united like this before,” he said. “It’s never been. It’s actually more so than it was three days ago.”

What makes this feud more awkward is that Musk spent over $250 million last year helping Trump win the presidency. After the election, Trump gave him control of the Department of Government Efficiency, a role that led to mass layoffs and several agency shutdowns. But even with all that history, their partnership has collapsed.

In the final part of his interview, Trump gave one more jab. He said Musk’s meltdown may have ended up helping his bill. “I think, actually, Elon brought out the strengths of the bill because people that weren’t as focused started focusing on it, and they see how good it is,” he said. “So in that sense, there was a big favor. But I think Elon, really, I think it’s a shame that he’s so depressed and so heartbroken.”

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