White House Hints at Thawing of Trump-Musk Feud

The President of the United States and the world’s richest man may be tired of fighting.

After Elon Musk wrote Wednesday on X that he regretted some of the things he posted about President Donald Trump the week before, Trump hinted he was ready to move on. It was “very nice” Musk expressed regret, Trump told the New York Post in a phone interview Wednesday morning.

Trump’s White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavit echoed that sentiment speaking with reporters Wednesday afternoon. “The President acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning and he is appreciative of it. We are continuing to focus on the work of the American people,” Leavitt said.

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Last week, Trump publicly threatened to terminate Musk’s government contracts as a feud between the two men unfolded on social media spat. Musk’s companies SpaceX and Tesla have benefited from tens of billions in subsidies, contracts and tax breaks over the years. But it appears Trump hadn’t yet followed through on that threat. Asked if Trump had moved to block government funds going to Musk’s companies, Leavitt said, “No efforts have been made on that as far as I’m aware.”

The very public breakup between Trump and Musk began last week over Musk’s opposition to the massive tax-and-spending bill that Republicans are trying to push through Congress. The bill is the centerpiece of Trump’s domestic agenda. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the current version of the bill would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years.

As both men attacked one another, Musk claimed Trump wouldn’t have won the 2024 election without him and, in what Musk described as “the really big bomb,” wrote in a post on X—without evidence—that Trump is named in the case files of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and suggested that was the reason the full files have not been made public. Musk’s message was later deleted.

Then early Wednesday, Musk posted on X: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”