Trump and Musk feud draws reactions from billionaires, politicians and pundits. Here’s who said what 1/2
PUBLISHED THU, JUN 5 202511:45 PMO
KEY POINTS
• Trump threatened to pull back billions of dollars in government contracts for Musk.
• Musk suggested the president would not have won the election without him.
• Wall Street traders dumped Tesla shares, plunging them over 14%.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk seemed inseparable not so long ago: attending events together, doing joint interviews and showering praises on each other. All that changed overnight.
Trump and Musk traded barbs in a rather public feud, with the U.S. president threatening to pull back billions of dollars in government contracts for Musk’s companies, while the Tesla CEO suggested Trump could not have won the election without him.
The hostilities began when Trump lashed out at Musk’s criticism of the Republican tax-cut and spending bill, and quickly escalated into an all-out online brawl on Trump’s Truth Social and Musk’s X,with prominent businessmen, analysts and political names weighing in on the fight.
Tech and political
Billionaire Bill Ackman on Thursday urged Trump and Musk to stop fighting. The two men should “make peace for the benefit of our country,” Ackman said on X.
The founder and chief executive of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, who had endorsed Trump a few months before the November election, said: “We are much stronger together than apart,” with Musk replying: “You’re not wrong.”
U.S. Congressman Jim Jordan told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Thursday that hehoped Musk and Trump would reconcile, while defending the budget bill.
Others in Trump’s orbit, such as former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who has clashed with Musk in recent months, were less conciliatory.
Bannon said on his “War Room Live” show Thursday that Trump should sign an executive order to take control of SpaceX, through a national security mobilization law called the Defense Production Act. (Bannon causing trouble)
Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican who has opposed Trump’s budget bill and been critical of the president in the past, said on X, “The falling out was inevitable. You don’t land rockets backwards or get cars to drive themselves by suffering fools gladly.” (Massie is truly an asshole, I had no idea how much he hates Trump)
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban seemingly endorsed a proposal from Musk, who had polled followers onwhether to “create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle.”
Former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang repostedCuban, later pitching an “Independent ’28 presidential primary” with participants including Mark Cuban, Jamie Dimon, and actor Matthew McConaughey. (Oh Brother that’s all they got?)
In Europe, Polish ForeignMinister Radosław Sikorski took aim at Musk over his feud with Trump. Sikorski became embroiled in a public spat with Musk and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in March when he said Ukraine may need an alternative to the Starlink satellite service. Amid a flurry of social media posts,Musk told Warsaw’s top diplomat, “Be quiet, small man.”
Referencing the previous dispute, Sikorski said in a post on X, “See, big man, politics is harder than you thought.”
In an apparent reference to Trump and Musk’s online spat, the European Union’s former leader on tech Thierry Breton posted an eyes emoji and a popcorn emoji.Breton and Musk have previously clashed on social media.
Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer said in a post on X that “Trump is more powerful than elon, but far less competent.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/06/trump-musk-feud-draws-reactions-from-billionaires-politicians-and-pundits.html