US Politics
He just can’t quit him. Donald Trump suspects he will ‘always like’ Elon Musk
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
President Donald Trump has confessed that he suspects he will “always like” his former ally and current political frenemy Elon Musk.
Speaking on board Air Force One, the president said that his highly-publicized falling out with Musk was a “very stupid” moment in the tech CEO’s life.
The pair previously clashed over the president’s Big, Beautiful Bill earlier this year, leading to a whirlwind of accusations shortly after Musk left the White House.
“During Charlie’s beautiful tribute, Elon came up,” Trump told reporters onboard the presidential plane. “It’s good with him. I like Elon; I’ve always liked Elon. It’s good.
“On and off, a little bit, very little. Look, he’s a nice guy and he’s a very capable guy. I’ve always liked him.”
“He had a bad spell, he had a bad period, he had a bad moment,” he continued. “It was a stupid moment in his life, very stupid. I’m sure he’d tell you that.
“I like Elon and I suspect I’ll always like him.”
open image in gallery
The pair was last seen together at Charlie Kirk’s memorial on September 21, which was held at the State Farm Stadium in Arizona.
The president and Musk were seen sitting together at the event, which drew over 90,000 people. Later in the day, Trump spoke on stage about feeling “hate” for his enemies and said that political “violence largely comes from the left.”
In a more conciliatory tone, though, Musk posted a picture of himself and Trump together, captioned: “For Charlie.”
The X CEO and Trump had been close allies during the 2024 campaign, with Musk donating $290 million to the now-president’s reelection fund.
When Trump took office, Musk became the head of the highly controversial Department of Government Efficiency, which was named after the SpaceX founder’s favourite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
After gutting federal agencies, Musk threw his weight into the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, but failed to get Republican Brad Schimel elected, despite spending $23 million on his campaign.
open image in gallery
But Trump and Musk’s working relationship collapsed when Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill proposed hiking U.S. debt.
Musk, sporting a bruise under his eye, left the White House while the Washington Post reported that Trump believed Musk to be a “big-time drug addict.”
Their fiery dispute continued in bitter exchanges on social media, with Musk eventually claiming that Trump was in the Epstein files, which allegedly contain details about the crimes of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk wrote in a now-archived post. “That is the real reason they have not been made public.
“Have a nice day, DJT!”
Since then, tensions between the pair have risen and fallen, with them briefly reconciling in June after Musk apologized to Trump over his Epstein claims, only to resume their feud shortly after.