{"id":11718,"date":"2025-07-02T14:42:56","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718"},"modified":"2025-07-03T10:36:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T02:36:51","slug":"trump-musk-feud-reignites-over-the-big-beautiful-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718","title":{"rendered":"Trump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The public and messy feud between President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk was reignited this week over the president\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d as Congress works to get the massive package to Trump\u2019s desk by July 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk on Monday said he would back primary challengers against any Republicans who support Trump\u2019s megabill and promised to donate to lawmakers who have drawn the administration\u2019s ire like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Trump then threatened to cut government contracts for Musk\u2019s companies and left open the possibility of deporting the South African CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump and Musk both had signaled they were ready to move on from their bitter fight nearly a month ago, but the president\u2019s megabill that Musk has called \u201cpolitical suicide for the Republican Party\u201d has brought the two men back to snipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think Washington is confused by the on-off-again relationship between Trump and Musk. It looked like they had patched things up around a month ago,\u201d said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, adding that the tech billionaire\u2019s posts on the social platform X, which Musk owns, \u201ccame out of nowhere for most people\u201d after it seemed like he was \u201clooking to bury the hatchet\u201d in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump on Tuesday shrugged off concerns that the GOP could be swayed by Musk\u2019s megabill criticism, but he doubled down on his suggestion that the federal government take a look at the contracts Musk\u2019s companies have. Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits over the years, according to a February Washington Post analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump tours Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ migrant detention facility<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so. I think what\u2019s going to happen is DOGE is going to look at Musk. And if DOGE looks at Musk, we\u2019re going to save a fortune,\u201d Trump said during a visit to a new migrant detention facility in Florida, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). \u201cI don\u2019t think he should be playing that game with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a sharp change in tone from the president, who had previously said he thinks he could make amends with Musk after their nasty disagreement last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked on Tuesday morning what happened to Musk, Trump replied, \u201cnothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s upset that he\u2019s losing his EV mandate and he\u2019s upset. He\u2019s very upset about things. But he could lose a lot more than that. I can tell you right now, Elon can lose a lot more than that,\u201d he said, arguing that Musk\u2019s criticism of the bill is over a key provision that takes away tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) that benefited his company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president also signaled he would consider deporting the South African-born U.S. citizen, whom he had elevated to lead the cost-cutting DOGE until late May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I think we\u2019ll have to take a look. We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn\u2019t that be terrible,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president has praised the massive cuts and sweeping changes to the federal government under DOGE, despite pushback over job losses and service disruptions, and he gifted Musk a gold key to the White House in May as recognition of the billionaire\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now, Musk is arguing that Trump\u2019s ambitious tax and spending package undermines DOGE\u2019s efforts to rein in spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As senators squabbled over the bill this past week, Musk blasted the spending package as \u201cutterly insane\u201d and \u201cpolitical suicide\u201d for the GOP. On Monday, he renewed his calls for a new political party as he lamented estimates for how much the bill would raise the debt ceiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMusk is unique in that he has enough money to probably actually impact a two-party system,\u201d said a former Trump campaign official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRepublicans obviously face challenges in their ability to govern, and so do Democrats, but right now all Trump wants is a bill with his name on it that he thinks is a good bill. A lot of Republicans in Congress know this isn\u2019t a good bill, but fear is a motivator,\u201d the former campaign official said. \u201cWe\u2019re a two-party country, pure and simple. Musk is probably the only person that could change that given his money, but he\u2019d have to find unique, credible candidates to attract the disillusioned voter who thus far has leaned Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate\u2019s version of the bill, which narrowly passed earlier on Tuesday, would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion between 2025 and 2034, roughly $1 trillion more than the House-passed version, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!\u201d Musk wrote on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The promises to back primary challengers against Republicans who support the megabill come after Musk \u2014 the world\u2019s richest man, with a staggering $397 billion net worth, according to Forbes \u2014 signaled plans this spring to step back from political spending after injecting hundreds of millions into the 2024 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe could absolutely become a thorn in the side of the Republican Party by funding primary challengers. That would cause some headaches, no question about it,\u201d Bonjean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Trump \u201cholds most of the cards,\u201d Bonjean said, pointing to Trump\u2019s comments on the possibility of deportation and his authority over contracts that Musk and his companies touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think any candidate wants to have the world\u2019s richest man open up his war chest against him. But I think most members of Congress would rather have Trump\u2019s endorsement than Musk\u2019s millions,\u201d said GOP strategist Alex Conant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One source who worked in Trump\u2019s first administration described the situation with Musk as not overly concerning, given the support the president has from GOP lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe White House doesn\u2019t love the renewed back-and-forth, but no one sees this as a major political threat. It looks more like a flare-up than a serious inflection point,\u201d the source said. \u201cThis is Trump\u2019s party. The idea that rank-and-file Republicans would suddenly abandon him because of a feud with Elon just doesn\u2019t hold water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk spent at least $250 million through his America PAC on Trump\u2019s election. During his tenure with DOGE, he kept an office in the White House complex, slept over in the Lincoln Bedroom and touted that he and Trump were \u201cgood friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump also consistently defended Musk while he faced backlash over his work to make cuts to federal spending and as Teslas were vandalized around the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about the reignited feud, the White House argued that the president is saving money for taxpayers with his policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany Presidents have promised, but none other than President Trump has delivered to actually make government more efficient and root out waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington, and that mission is moving full steam ahead,\u201d White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in an emailed statement. \u201cUnder the President\u2019s leadership, every agency and department is executing this mission seamlessly and, as a result, has yielded more than $170 billion in savings for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public nature of Trump and Musk\u2019s spat last month and renewed fight this week is one of the more remarkable parts of their friends-turned-foes saga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are not two men who quietly settle their differences in the background. They\u2019re content to brawl it out in public,\u201d said Conant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk wouldn\u2019t be the first figure in Trump\u2019s orbit he elevated to a position of power \u201conly to fire and then fight with,\u201d Conant noted, pointing to Trump\u2019s frayed relationship with his first-term Vice President Mike Pence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnybody who\u2019s paid attention to Trump over the last 10 years should not be surprised that he\u2019s not backing down from a fight with Elon Musk.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The public and messy feud between President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk was reignited this week over the president\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d as Congress works to get the massive package to Trump\u2019s desk by July 4. Musk on Monday said he would back primary challengers against any Republicans who support Trump\u2019s megabill and promised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":11719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3455,2603,1724],"class_list":["post-11718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-feud","tag-musk","tag-trump"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019 - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019 - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The public and messy feud between President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk was reignited this week over the president\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d as Congress works to get the massive package to Trump\u2019s desk by July 4. Musk on Monday said he would back primary challengers against any Republicans who support Trump\u2019s megabill and promised […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-02T06:42:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-03T02:36:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250702143332.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"653\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"366\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Xenia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/\",\"name\":\"LISTEN WORLD\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250702143332.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250702143332.jpg\",\"width\":653,\"height\":366},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718\",\"name\":\"Trump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019 - LISTEN WORLD\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-02T06:42:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-03T02:36:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/0858d87b9dca5080708652d8e71bab95\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/0858d87b9dca5080708652d8e71bab95\",\"name\":\"Xenia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28b948f24823b0b7ad891b285d30c0f9eb58ea462ebe1e48936fbba5e46a42c2?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28b948f24823b0b7ad891b285d30c0f9eb58ea462ebe1e48936fbba5e46a42c2?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Xenia\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?author=10\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019 - LISTEN WORLD","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019 - LISTEN WORLD","og_description":"The public and messy feud between President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk was reignited this week over the president\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d as Congress works to get the massive package to Trump\u2019s desk by July 4. Musk on Monday said he would back primary challengers against any Republicans who support Trump\u2019s megabill and promised […]","og_url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718","og_site_name":"LISTEN WORLD","article_published_time":"2025-07-02T06:42:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-03T02:36:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":653,"height":366,"url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250702143332.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Xenia","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/","name":"LISTEN WORLD","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250702143332.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250702143332.jpg","width":653,"height":366},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#webpage","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718","name":"Trump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019 - LISTEN WORLD","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-07-02T06:42:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-03T02:36:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/0858d87b9dca5080708652d8e71bab95"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11718#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump-Musk feud reignites over the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/0858d87b9dca5080708652d8e71bab95","name":"Xenia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28b948f24823b0b7ad891b285d30c0f9eb58ea462ebe1e48936fbba5e46a42c2?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28b948f24823b0b7ad891b285d30c0f9eb58ea462ebe1e48936fbba5e46a42c2?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","caption":"Xenia"},"url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?author=10"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11720,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11718\/revisions\/11720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}