U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning on Saturday to his former advisor Elon Musk, vowing “serious consequences” should the tech billionaire attempt to retaliate against Republican lawmakers who support a contentious spending bill.
The fragile alliance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk—the former, the world’s most powerful political figure; the latter, its wealthiest private citizen—has spectacularly unraveled, sending shockwaves through both political and tech circles.
Their falling out, dramatic and public, unfolded largely on social media, gripping the public like a political soap opera. The feud was sparked by Musk’s scathing criticism of Trump’s hallmark “big, beautiful” spending bill, currently making its way through Congress. Musk not only denounced the legislation as an “abomination,” but also hinted at leveraging his vast fortune to back primary challengers against Republicans who support it—many of whom he helped finance during the last election cycle.
That threat drew a sharp response from Trump. Speaking to NBC News on Saturday, he warned Musk of “very serious consequences” if he follows through, labeling the billionaire “disrespectful” and stating bluntly that he has “no intention” of speaking to him again. The vague but ominous warning left many wondering what, exactly, the former president meant.
Ironically, just a week earlier, Trump had lavished praise on Musk during his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a symbolic post created to tout fiscal reform. The goodwill, however, evaporated almost overnight.
After Musk’s fiery remarks about the spending bill, Trump reportedly launched into a tirade within the Oval Office, igniting a public clash that stunned even veteran political observers. What began as a disagreement over policy quickly spiraled into personal attacks, culminating in Musk posting—and later deleting—a bombshell accusation: that Trump’s name appeared in unreleased government files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier whose criminal empire collapsed in scandal and suicide in 2019.
Although Musk walked back the allegation, the damage was done. The public spectacle raised the stakes not just for Trump and Musk, but for the Republican Party, which now finds itself caught between two of its most powerful and polarizing figures.
By Friday, there were faint signs of detente. Trump offered a conciliatory “I just wish him well” to reporters, and Musk echoed the sentiment with a terse “Likewise” on X. But whether this signals genuine de-escalation or just a pause before the next volley remains uncertain.
One thing is clear: the breakup between Trump and Musk is more than just a clash of egos. It’s a collision between power and wealth, ideology and influence, with real implications for the future of Republican politics—and perhaps even the broader direction of American governance.
The Trump administration has acknowledged it is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, videos and investigative material that his “MAGA” movement says will unmask public figures complicit in Epstein’s crimes.
Trump was named in a trove of deposition and statements linked to Epstein that were unsealed by a New York judge in early 2024. The president has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files,” Musk posted on his social media platform, X.
“That is the real reason they have not been made public.”
Musk did not reveal which files he was talking about and offered no evidence for his claim.
He initially doubled down on the claim, writing in a follow-up message: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
By Saturday morning, Elon Musk had quietly deleted the incendiary tweets that had further inflamed his clash with Donald Trump—posts in which he implied the former president was tied to unreleased government files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump, in response, dismissed the revived allegations as “old news” during an interview with NBC News, saying, “Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it.” His remarks were aimed at shutting down speculation that had resurfaced amid the public feud with Musk.
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Within the more conspiratorial fringes of the MAGA movement, however, Epstein’s name continues to provoke deep suspicion. Many of Trump’s staunchest supporters believe that powerful individuals—primarily Democrats and Hollywood elites—were shielded from scrutiny in connection with Epstein’s crimes. Notably, these theories rarely implicate Trump himself, despite his documented social ties to the disgraced financier.
While it’s well-known that Trump and Epstein moved in the same elite circles, often appearing at the same events in New York and Florida, Trump has consistently denied ever visiting Little Saint James—the secluded island in the U.S. Virgin Islands that prosecutors identified as central to Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking operation.
Still, a 2002 magazine profile complicates that denial. In it, Trump offered a glowing description of Epstein: “Terrific guy,” he said. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Though those comments have long since taken on a darker tone in hindsight, Trump has distanced himself from Epstein in the years since, claiming he cut ties with him well before the financier’s first arrest. But in today’s volatile political climate—where old associations can rapidly become new liabilities—even deleted tweets can reignite fires that are far from extinguished.