Donald Trump is very hurt. The President of the United States is used to being hated, to firing and dismissing collaborators, even to having members of his inner circle leave and criticize him harshly. But the unilaterally launched crusade by Elon Musk has surprised him, affected him, and days after the public clash, he still hasn't fully reacted.
This Saturday, in a phone interview, the president stated that he has no desire to repair their relationship. "No," Trump clearly said when asked if he was considering it. When asked if he believed his relationship with the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX had ended, Trump replied: "I suppose so (...) 'm too busy doing other things", he said, and added: "I have no intention of speaking with him," accusing him of disrespecting the institution of the presidency. "I think it's very bad because it's very disrespectful. You can't disrespect the office of the president," he added.
Additionally, he threatened his former partner if he dared to use his enormous fortune to support the campaigns of White House-favored candidates. Musk dedicated 275 million of his fortune to Trump's reelection, and not only has he given much more to other politicians, but above all, he formed an alliance with the president to threaten any rebellious Republican who does not blindly support all the leader's proposals by financing the campaigns of other hand-picked candidates. "If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that," Trump told NBC News in a phone interview about the possibility that now, out of resentment or revenge, the businessman may consider confronting him.
In the last few hours, Musk has deleted some of the harshest and most hurtful messages against Trump, which he posted on his social network, X, for his more than 200 million followers and the press worldwide. For example, the one that said the Government is not releasing the "Epstein files", referring to the alleged papers of the pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, because "Donald Trump is in them". A tremendous accusation, especially for the leader of a movement like MAGA, whose members are addicted to conspiracies like the one about Epstein, which for years has served them to attack rivals like the Clinton couple.
Musk has also deleted the message in which he called for an impeachment, a Congressional political trial of Trump, so that he could be replaced by Vance. But it hasn't helped to build bridges. Dozens of articles in the last few hours, with information from the president's circle, explain that Trump has instructed his people to be cautious, not aggressive. He openly told Vice President JD Vance, according to these reports, while recording an interview for a podcast with a comedian while the exchange of attacks on social media was at its hottest moment.
Vance, in fact, appears in the interview responding to questions about Musk's accusations defending the president, but without the brutal tone seen on other occasions, especially with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Vance has said he regrets what happened, that Musk made "a huge mistake,".
The president is reacting in a way he is not accustomed to. On Thursday, he only said he was "disappointed." When he saw the messages on X, he replied from his own social network saying that Musk "has gone crazy" and pointed to his anger because his candidate to lead NASA was rejected or tax incentives for electric cars were withdrawn. But on Friday, he rejected the escalation. He did not speak to journalists on his way to the helicopter, something very unusual. And on Air Force One, he simply said that perhaps his contracts will be reviewed with the government, but without details.
This Saturday, in a reconstruction, The Washington Post provides more details on the clashes of the past weeks, pointing to the erratic behavior of the world's richest man and his drug use. "He is a big-time drug addict," the president has said in recent days according to present sources, lamenting aggressive behaviors, such as a clash with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over an appointment for the head of the Tax Agency that almost ended in punches, with several officials separating them when Musk shoulder-checked Bessent as in a rugby or American football charge.