LAWMAKERS have been forced to pick sides after President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s bromance came to a screeching halt.
Following Elon Musk’s calls for President Trump’s impeachment and unsubstantiated claims regarding the Epstein files, both Democrats and Republicans are rushing to declare their support.
The conflict began when Musk criticized Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” labeling it as a “huge, absurd, pork-laden Congressional appropriation.”
In response, Trump suggested that Musk’s strong reaction stemmed from the bill’s provisions to revoke billions in federal subsidies from Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company.
The two exchanged digital blows with searing social media posts until late Thursday night, when White House aides were said to have scheduled a call between the bitter rivals.
But that all fell apart on Friday morning when Trump blasted Musk again and said he wasn’t interested in talking anytime soon.
Musk appeared to have offered a possible olive branch when he responded to a post on X from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
Ackman called for reconciliation, “for the benefit of our great country,” and said, “We are much stronger together than apart.”
In a telling reply, Musk said, “You’re not wrong.”
Despite glimmers of hope, politicians and thought leaders have rushed to pick sides and share their two cents on the matter.
Though many of them have been quick to stick to President Trump, not everyone is falling in line.
DUKING IT OUT
CJ Pearson, who is the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory, made it clear who had his vote and confidence.
“I’ll be on the side of the guy that took a bullet for his country. Simple as that,” he told the Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson raced to try to get the businessman on the phone to negotiate a peace offering.
He said they were trying to nail down a time to chat, but haven’t been able to iron things out yet.
“Look, I know all of you are very concerned about [Musk’s] tweets, but I think the American people are concerned about things that really matter,” Johnson told reporters Thursday.
“That is making their taxes low, making their economy work, making the border secure, making energy dominance a big thing again, and that’s what our bill is going to do.”
Johnson said he supported Trump’s massive tax and spending cuts bill, and called it a “historic step forward.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the feud was an “unfortunate episode from Elon,” adding that he wasn’t happy with the bill because “it does not include the policies he wanted.”
“As a businessman, he has a right to speak for his companies, but as president, President Trump has a responsibility to fight for this country,” she told Fox News.
How did Musk and Trump’s relationship crumble?
ELON Musk and Donald Trump spent Thursday launching insults on social media as their relationship quickly went sour.
The Tesla owner called for Trump’s impeachment as the president hit back and warned the government could end all federal contracts with Musk’s companies. Here’s how it went down:
- On Tuesday, Musk tweeted that Trump’s signature “big beautiful” spending bill was a “disgusting abomination” that would add billions to the federal deficit
- On Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump addressed Musk’s criticism of the bill and accused Musk of trying to kill it because the bill ends federal subsidies for electric vehicles
- Musk responded by live-posting on X as Trump spoke, initially shrugging off the president’s assessment with an unbothered “Whatever,” before tearing into the bill’s other spending provisions
- Trump escalated the feud after the Oval Office meeting with multiple posts on Truth Social, saying he told Musk to leave the White House instead of continuing to work with Doge and threatening to dump Musk’s federal contracts, which are worth billions
- Musk fired back on X by saying he was “decommissioning” the Dragon spacecraft made by SpaceX that brought the stranded Nasa astronauts back from the International Space Station in March
- Musk also escalated the war of words by reposting and replying “Yes” to a tweet claiming that Trump should be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance
- Musk further fanned the flames by claiming that Trump is named in the infamous “Epstein files” and making unfounded accusations that its the reason they haven’t been released to the public.Â
Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, who has received support from Musk, disagreed that Trump should be impeached but added that he still respects the Tesla CEO.
“This is the language Trump speaks in. [Musk] is speaking it back to him,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance rushed to his bosses aid and blasted “lies the corporate media tells about President Trump.”
“One of the most glaring is that he’s impulsive or short-tempered,” he wrote.
“Anyone who has seen him operate under pressure knows that’s ridiculous.”
SHOCKING CLAIMS
Other Republicans fumed over Musk’s unfounded claim that Trump is named in files on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Leader of the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, Anna Paulina Luna, said the accusation was bogus.
“The fact is, I do not believe that President Trump is in the Epstein files,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett argued that if Trump were in the files, it would’ve already be used against him politically.
“Honestly, if any of that stuff was true on Trump, don’t you think the Biden administration would have brought it out? I mean, that’s just ridiculous,” he said.
There’s no evidence that Trump had any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
INFLUENCERS WEIGH IN
MAGA influencers remain divided on the feud, including Emily Wilson, known as Emily Saves America, who said that she “doesn’t agree with doing this publicly and it’s not a good look for us… compared to Democrats, our party at least goes for it.
“We go with what we think and feel, we don’t just fall in line with each other. I feel like Democrats are all shady and do everything behind closed doors and eat their own.”
Raquel Debono, who runs Make America Hot Again, jokingly said: “I guess Trump’s not invited to Mars anymore.”
However, activist Robby Starbuck said MAGA is stronger “with Trump and Elon working together,” and hopes the two can come together.
“Elon is right to want a balanced budget and Trump is right to want his signature legislation.
“Remember, our founders in America did great things, often fought and later made up. This doesn’t need to be a breakup if they let cooler heads prevail.”
FETTERMAN SLAMS DEMS
The feud has had some in the Democratic party praising Musk, which has earned the ire of Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman.
“The Dems, we’ve been dumping all over Musk and vandalizing Teslas or whatever, and now, suddenly, we might be more back into him,” he said.
Fetterman warned the party against fawning over the billionaire.
“It wasn’t that long ago that Tesla was like the virtue-signaling kind of accessory for Dems,” he said.
“I would never want to vandalize Teslas, and the ‘big, beautiful bill’ is wrong for America. So, from my perspective, I’ve just tried to be consistent through that.”
