Elon Musk: Trump "Betrayed" Me. He Wouldn't Have Gotten Elected Without Me.

The Bee:

The media is going to make a huge deal about this. And, for once, they're right. This is a huge deal. When the two most powerful men in the world disown each other and end their fruitful political partnership, it's a huge deal.

I understand Musk's frustration. Musk put himself in a terrible business position -- pissing off his own progressive greeney customer base -- to ferret out all of the wasteful spending in government, only to see those efforts wasted.

We're not seeing $2 trillion cut from the budget. We're not even seeing $200 billion, which was a number floated as well.

Trump is asking for $9.4 billion in rescissions from the budget.

Maybe this describes you as well -- I never know what to think in these situations. Is it really true that this is the best we can do? Are there just too many leftwing "Republicans" to ever pass meaningful budget cuts?

If there are too many -- why don't we just go to war with them and turn them out of office? Why do we continue to allow Lisa Murkowski to command the entire party?

On the other hand -- did Musk over-promise? Was his ultimate plan to reform entitlement spending, which Trump promised he would not do?

No doubt, some things probably are "politically impossible." The problem is, the GOPe claims that everything actual conservatives want is "politically impossible," including stuff that is now proven to be very politically possible -- like closing the border without having to join with the Democrats on a Bipartisan Open Borders Amnesty bill.

They lie about literally everything and claim everything we ask them to do simply cannot be done. This is a lie. They just don't want to do these things, because they're establishment liberals and always have been.

So if someone says that $2 trillion in cuts is politically impossible, should I believe them? Why should I believe them, when they have lied remorselessly to me about literally everything else?

Anyway, this is a a messy public break-up and it's a shame that Trump and Musk are no longer a team.

"Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after Musk slammed his tax and spending mega-bill as an "abomination".

The world's richest man responded by live-tweeting on his X social media platform as Trump spoke on television, saying that the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without him and slamming him for "ingratitude."

In an extraordinary rant as visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sat mutely beside him, 78-year-old Trump unloaded on SpaceX and Tesla boss Musk in his first comments on the issue.

"I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here... All of a sudden, he had a problem," Trump said when asked about Musk.

The clash comes less than a week since Trump held a grand Oval Office farewell for Musk as he wrapped up his time leading the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

South African-born Musk, 53, hit back minutes later, saying Trump's claims he had advance sight of the bill were "false."

"Whatever," he added above a video of Trump saying Musk was upset about the loss of subsidies for electric vehicles.

Musk then ratcheted up the public spat even further, saying the Republican would have lost the election without his support. He was the biggest donor to Trump's campaign, to the tune of nearly $300 million.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election," Musk said on X. "Such ingratitude."

Tesla shares fell sharply on Wall Street, down eight percent, after his comments, in a sign of the huge stakes for a falling out between the world's richest man and its most powerful.

Trump, as a businessman, seemed a little off-balance in his first term. He expected that, as the National CEO, he could announce a policy and the "business" would enact that policy.

In his second term, he's savvier about what a shitshow DC is.

Maybe the problem is that Musk, being a neophyte -- being in the Trump 1.0 mindset -- just doesn't accept that the CEO has to make crappy deals with his stupid RINO middle-managers.

I've also heard people say that Musk is angry that Trump isn't extending the Obama-era subsidies for EVs. (And if I had to make this call -- I'd extend those subsidies for ten years. Yes, I know, it's a garbage policy. But Musk has lost tens of billions of dollars due to his crusade. I'd give the guy a break. Yes, it's a political payoff. So what? Politics is mostly payoffs, and this one is well-earned.)

Musk has really crossed a line here -- Trump does not forgive anyone who doesn't say he won an election. I think Musk nuked their relationship by claiming credit for his win.

And, by the way, I think he has a point: Musk did bring in a lot of "Gray Tribe" voters, voters who usually consider themselves "above" electoral politics and the Democrat/Republican dichotomy. And Musk brought in a lot of Silicon Valley billionaires and millionaires, too.

But... I don't think he can say he won the election for Trump.

And I know he can't say that and have any future relationship with Trump.

Musk also retweeted Trump's old tweets about cutting the budget. And John Thune's, too.

Elon Musk @elonmusk

4m
"Balanced budget or bust!" - @LeaderJohnThune

https://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/0

Eek:

posted by Ace at 02:33 PM

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