Latest news with #MuskVsTrump
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk blames 'snake' White House aide for rift with Trump
Elon Musk continued his feud with the Trump administration on his way out of Washington, referring to the director of presidential personnel as 'a snake.' Sergio Gor, who feuded with Musk during his time as head of DOGE and reportedly killed Musk's preferred nominee for NASA administrator, is accused of not being vetted before taking the job. The media saw it as the man in charge of vetting White House employees not being looked into himself, while Musk saw it in a different way, writing on X Wednesday night: 'He's a snake.' Musk's post remains up which is notable given the Tesla CEO has apologized for going 'too far' in his wild statements regarding Donald Trump during their falling out. When reached out to the White House, they defended Gor's (pictured) credentials and a White House official noted that he helped Musk get many of his preferred DOGE employees installed in Washington. 'Mr. Gor is fully compliant with all applicable ethical and legal obligations. His security clearance is active, any insinuation he doesn't maintain a clearance is false.' said White House Counsel David Warrington. Nonetheless, several prominent officials defended Gor's work in the second Trump administration. JD Vance added: 'Sergio has led the effort to ensure committed, principled America First advocates staff the President's government. He's done a great job, and will continue to do so. Sergio is a vital member of the team and he has helped President Trump put together an Administration that is second to none,' White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said. 'As a long-time advisor, there is nobody more capable of ensuring the government is staffed with people who are aligned with the mission to make America great again and work towards implementing the President's agenda.' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called The New York Post's original story 'sad' and 'baseless gossip' and called Gor a 'trusted advisor to President Trump.' Trump's surprise decision to change Musk's preferred pick to lead NASA may have done more to fuel the historic blowup between the two men than previously known. The president canceled his nomination of Jared Isaacman as NASA's administrator after Musk officially left the White House on Friday. Isaacman, a billionaire, pilot and astronaut, was close with Musk and even flew to space with Musk's Dragon program on Operation Polaris Dawn in 2024 . But he had a history of donating funds to Democrats, including recent Democratic candidates who ran against GOP senators Tim Sheehy of Montana and Bernie Moreno of Ohio in 2024. Despite his donations, Isaacman was approved by the Senate committee in April and was expected to get confirmed this week in the Senate. But Trump's advisor Gor reportedly delivered Trump a list of Isaacman's donations to Democrats. Gor did not appreciate Musk's involvement in personnel matters, the report noted, as they had a tense relationship. 'This was Sergio's out-the-door '[expletive] you' to Musk,' one White House official said. Trump and Musk spoke about Issacson's record prior to their press conference last Friday. Despite their conversation, Trump pulled Issacson's nomination on Saturday. 'After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. Musk responded to the news with disappointment 'It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted,' Musk wrote of Isaacman on X. The president mused Thursday that Musk's personal attacks might have been trigged by his decision. 'I know that disturbed him He wanted and rightfully recommended somebody that I guess he knew very well. I'm sure he respected him, to run NASA. But I didn't think it was appropriate. He happened to be a Democrat, like totally Democrat,' Trump said, adding that the administration had the right to nominate a Republican to the position. As the person in charge at the White House personnel office, Gor is a powerful aide that is rarely crossed as he influences who is allowed to work in the administration. Gor, a long-time loyal Deputy Chief of staff to Sen. Rand Paul, left in 2019 to serve as Chief of Staff to Trump Victory Finance Committee.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk savages White House aide blamed for sinister move that led to First Buddy's fall out with Trump
Elon Musk continued his feud with the Trump administration on his way out of Washington, referring to the director of presidential personnel as 'a snake.' Sergio Gor, who feuded with Musk during his time as head of DOGE and reportedly killed Musk's preferred nominee for NASA administrator, is accused of not being vetted before taking the job. The media saw it as the man in charge of vetting White House employees not being looked into himself, while Musk saw it in a different way, writing on X Wednesday night: 'He's a snake.' Musk's post remains up which is notable given the Tesla CEO has apologized for going 'too far' in his wild statements regarding Donald Trump during their falling out. When reached out to the White House, they defended Gor's credentials and a White House official noted that he helped Musk get many of his preferred DOGE employees installed in Washington. 'Mr. Gor is fully compliant with all applicable ethical and legal obligations. His security clearance is active, any insinuation he doesn't maintain a clearance is false.' said White House Counsel David Warrington. Nonetheless, several prominent officials defended Gor's work in the second Trump administration. JD Vance added: 'Sergio has led the effort to ensure committed, principled America First advocates staff the President's government. He's done a great job, and will continue to do so.' 'Sergio is a vital member of the team and he has helped President Trump put together an Administration that is second to none,' White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said. 'As a long-time advisor, there is nobody more capable of ensuring the government is staffed with people who are aligned with the mission to make America great again and work towards implementing the President's agenda.' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called The New York Post's original story 'sad' and 'baseless gossip' and called Gor a 'trusted advisor to President Trump.' Trump's surprise decision to change Musk's preferred pick to lead NASA may have done more to fuel the historic blowup between the two men than previously known. The president canceled his nomination of Jared Isaacman as NASA's administrator after Musk officially left the White House on Friday. Isaacman, a billionaire, pilot and astronaut, was close with Musk and even flew to space with Musk's Dragon program on Operation Polaris Dawn in 2024. But he had a history of donating funds to Democrats, including recent Democratic candidates who ran against GOP senators Tim Sheehy of Montana and Bernie Moreno of Ohio in 2024. Despite his donations, Isaacman was approved by the Senate committee in April and was expected to get confirmed this week in the Senate. But Trump's advisor Gor reportedly delivered Trump a list of Isaacman's donations to Democrats. Gor did not appreciate Musk's involvement in personnel matters, the report noted, as they had a tense relationship. 'This was Sergio's out-the-door 'f**k you' to Musk,' one White House official said. Trump and Musk spoke about Issacson's record prior to their press conference last Friday. Despite their conversation, Trump pulled Issacson's nomination on Saturday. 'After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. Musk responded to the news with disappointment 'It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted,' Musk wrote of Isaacman on X. The president mused Thursday that Musk's personal attacks might have been trigged by his decision. 'I know that disturbed him He wanted and rightfully recommended somebody that I guess he knew very well. I'm sure he respected him, to run NASA. But I didn't think it was appropriate. He happened to be a Democrat, like totally Democrat,' Trump said, adding that the administration had the right to nominate a Republican to the position. As the person in charge at the White House personnel office, Gor is a powerful aide that is rarely crossed as he influences who is allowed to work in the administration. Gor, a long-time loyal Deputy Chief of staff to Sen. Rand Paul, left in 2019 to serve as Chief of Staff to Trump Victory Finance Committee. He also is a close associate of Donald Trump Jr. and and officiated Rep. Matt Gaetz's wedding in August 2021. Gor also co-founded Trump Jr.'s publishing company and founded a pro-Trump super PAC in the 2024 election, spending nearly $72 million.
The Independent
07-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Musk was Trump's tweeter-in-chief. Now he's using X against him
Elon Musk's X profile is like a window into his psyche: an inescapable stream of consciousness where impulsive tweets reveal his unfiltered thoughts and shifting moods. Musk harnessed his social media platform to propel Donald Trump to the White House, feeding anti-Democrat content and election conspiracy theories to his followers. Now Musk is turning that same platform – home to nearly 600 million monthly users – against him. After posting earlier in the week that Trump's signature budget policy was a 'disgusting abomination' that will 'drive America into debt slavery', the billionaire is openly taunting Trump on X, even calling for his impeachment. An analysis of Musk's tweets by The Independent shows that Musk has undergone a dramatic shift in both the tone and volume of his posts since his initial support of Trump in mid-2024 to when he began distancing himself from his governmental duties earlier this year – weeks before the White House announced his Washington tenure had finished. And now the platform has chronicled the rise and fall of the world's most powerful bromance. Musk began tweeting incessantly after he publicly endorsed Trump in July last year following the first attempt on the president's life in Butler, Pennsylvania. Then, once Musk was tapped in November to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, he emerged as Trump's tweeter-in-chief. Despite his new White House commitments, not to mention running six companies – including SpaceX, Tesla, and X itself – Musk appeared more glued to his keyboard than ever, using the platform as his primary news source, and place to share his views and stir up controversy. The first 50 days of the Trump administration arguably marked Musk's most fervent display of support for the president, both in terms of tweet content and frequency. On February 7, he mused that, 'I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man.' Take President's Day, February 17, his most prolific 24-hour posting spell to date. Musk posted 262 times, according to The Independent 's analysis, with messages ranging from single emojis to lengthy missives attacking Democrats. All told, the posting spree equated to one message every five-and-a-half minutes, with no breaks. Musk had a busy Q1 — between January 20 and March 10, he posted 6,778 times – averaging more than 135 X posts per day. And he stayed on message, tweeting about his government-slashing force DOGE more than any other topic in that period, quickly followed by 'Trump' and 'president.' Social media analytics firms like Social Blade were forced to stop tracking tweets after X said these businesses had to pay for an Enterprise subscription, at $42,000 to $210,000 a month. The resulting gap has made transparency on X murkier than ever; and is also why The Independent could only analyze Musk's posts until mid-March. In early spring, Musk's public pledges of MAGA allegiance and trollish squibs began to slow down, and the subjects of his posts moved from Trump administration duties to his own commercial interests. Buyers of his electric vehicles protested against his shift to right-wing politics and efforts to dismantle federal departments, with Tesla's stock price plummeting, and a Rome dealership set ablaze. In April, Musk announced plans to significantly reduce his involvement with DOGE, opting to work remotely and allocate more time to Tesla. A month later, Musk's X daily posts at points reached single figures. In hindsight, it might be considered the calm before the storm. By the end of May, Musk came off the platform to deliver a gut punch to the Trump administration. He told NBC News that Trump's showpiece tax bill 'undermines' the work done by DOGE, without directly mentioning the president. Musk landed a heavy blow on Tuesday, blasting the president's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' as an 'outrageous, pork-filled, disgusting abomination.' But it was after a press conference with the German Chancellor where Trump said he was 'disappointed' with Musk's comments, that Musk went on his most destructive X rampage yet — calling Trump ungrateful, calling for his impeachment and saying he's linked to Jeffrey Epstein. And these claims get read and spread by a wide audience: his Thursday post declaring 'Trump would have lost the election' if it weren't for his support garnered nearly 15 million views in a single day. This is more than just a playground spat between the two rich powerful men, because Musk's ownership of X allows him to reach a vast audience, some of whom are skeptical of mainstream media, and control a narrative — and his posts have been known to set off market reactions, media cycles, and political waves. Those who have stuck with X, whether they are one of Musk's 220 million followers or not, have been inundated with his musings and attacks morning, noon, and night. Musk is believed to selectively issue suspensions and use algorithms to throttle foes that are critical of both him and his ventures. According to the tech news site Platformer, the self-styled 'free speech absolutist' directed a team of 80 engineers to amplify his own tweets over others, ensuring they reach vast audiences (he allegedly did the same for Trump in November). Musk has subsequently blurred the line between platform owner, political provocateur and propagandist. How will he next use X to punish the social media-reliant, legacy media-averse president?
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump will come out on top in his battle with Musk
In the end it was always bound to get messy – how could it not? Two bombastic billionaires aligned by ambition and imperiousness – an unlikely bromance fuelled by an unquenchable attraction to both legitimacy and impunity. But here we are – barely four months after joining him in the Oval Office, Tesla-chief Elon Musk has not merely fallen out with his presidential benefactor: he's taking their battle public. On Thursday, Musk – now finished leading Trump's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency – 'went nuclear,' as the New York Post phrased it, accusing the president of covering up his cameo in the infamous Jeffrey Epstein sex-crimes saga. 'Time to drop the really big bomb,' posted Musk on Twitter Thursday afternoon. 'That is the real reason they have not been made public,' he added as he teased an Epstein-related bombshell. The daggers come as Musk takes aim at Trump's massive One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which bundles together much of the president's key legislative objectives. The bill has already passed in the House, but Musk wants Congress to 'kill it.' His beef: among other provisions, the ending of tax credits for electric vehicles (like Musk-made Teslas) which was approved by former president Joe Biden. As both Trump and Musk know well, the truth around the Epstein affair matters far less than the fact that the two men are fighting about it. Even if Musk uncovers some sort of sexual salaciousness, it's unlikely to matter – both to Trump, nor his base, who are fully aware of (and unbothered by) the President's messy amorous history. What really matters is Trump – both his tendency for prolonged distractions (such as Musk!) and his zeal for heart-daggering retribution. Still Musk, despite lacking presidential powers, cannot be easily taken down – after all his perch exists because the president placed him there. But neither can Musk simply dismiss Trump outright. Ever skilful with a threat, Trump has already warned that he could withhold 'billion and billions of dollars' in federal funding for Musk-related companies, such as Tesla and Space X. Little doubt Trump could easily identify billions more. But cutting Musk's cash flow won't come without consequence: SpaceX, for instance, forms much of the transport network needed to maintain the International Space Station. Yet Trump's barbs matter just as much – Tesla's stock sank nearly 10 per cent on Thursday in response to the Trump-Musk kerfuffle. Considering the stock is already trading 40 per cent below its 52-week high, Musk could face internal pressure to tone things down if his feud with the president deepens. It likely will – at least in the short term. After all, neither Trump nor Musk shy away from conflict and both view adversarialism as a necessary tool of conquest. Both certainly have the required ammunition – billions of dollars, wholly-owned social media platforms and eager, sycophantic fan bases. But Trump – clear-eyed against Musk's alleged drug-taking – will likely wind up the winner. Having poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump's campaign, Musk clearly craves a return on his investment. He had one when he was hanging in the Oval, but now cast adrift he's clearly resentful and seeking vengeance. Trump, however, wants nothing nor really needs nothing from Musk – except, when the time comes, to simply be left alone. For men like Musk and Trump – consumed with attention and approval – indifference may prove the most potent poison of all. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump will come out on top in his battle with Musk
In the end it was always bound to get messy – how could it not? Two bombastic billionaires aligned by ambition and imperiousness – an unlikely bromance fuelled by an unquenchable attraction to both legitimacy and impunity. But here we are – barely four months after joining him in the Oval Office, Tesla-chief Elon Musk has not merely fallen out with his presidential benefactor: he's taking their battle public. On Thursday, Musk – now finished leading Trump's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency – 'went nuclear,' as the New York Post phrased it, accusing the president of covering up his cameo in the infamous Jeffrey Epstein sex-crimes saga. 'Time to drop the really big bomb,' posted Musk on Twitter Thursday afternoon. 'That is the real reason they have not been made public,' he added as he teased an Epstein-related bombshell. The daggers come as Musk takes aim at Trump's massive One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which bundles together much of the president's key legislative objectives. The bill has already passed in the House, but Musk wants Congress to 'kill it.' His beef: among other provisions, the ending of tax credits for electric vehicles (like Musk-made Teslas) which was approved by former president Joe Biden. As both Trump and Musk know well, the truth around the Epstein affair matters far less than the fact that the two men are fighting about it. Even if Musk uncovers some sort of sexual salaciousness, it's unlikely to matter – both to Trump, nor his base, who are fully aware of (and unbothered by) the President's messy amorous history. What really matters is Trump – both his tendency for prolonged distractions (such as Musk!) and his zeal for heart-daggering retribution. Still Musk, despite lacking presidential powers, cannot be easily taken down – after all his perch exists because the president placed him there. But neither can Musk simply dismiss Trump outright. Ever skilful with a threat, Trump has already warned that he could withhold 'billion and billions of dollars' in federal funding for Musk-related companies, such as Tesla and Space X. Little doubt Trump could easily identify billions more. But cutting Musk's cash flow won't come without consequence: SpaceX, for instance, forms much of the transport network needed to maintain the International Space Station. Yet Trump's barbs matter just as much – Tesla's stock sank nearly 10 per cent on Thursday in response to the Trump-Musk kerfuffle. Considering the stock is already trading 40 per cent below its 52-week high, Musk could face internal pressure to tone things down if his feud with the president deepens. It likely will – at least in the short term. After all, neither Trump nor Musk shy away from conflict and both view adversarialism as a necessary tool of conquest. Both certainly have the required ammunition – billions of dollars, wholly-owned social media platforms and eager, sycophantic fan bases. But Trump – clear-eyed against Musk's alleged drug-taking – will likely wind up the winner. Having poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump's campaign, Musk clearly craves a return on his investment. He had one when he was hanging in the Oval, but now cast adrift he's clearly resentful and seeking vengeance. Trump, however, wants nothing nor really needs nothing from Musk – except, when the time comes, to simply be left alone. For men like Musk and Trump – consumed with attention and approval – indifference may prove the most potent poison of all.
