Musk climbs down after messy MAGA breakup

What happened

Elon Musk waved the white flag in his feud with President Trump just days after writing a series of social media posts in which he denigrated the Republican spending bill, threatened to deny NASA use of SpaceX spacecraft, and linked the president to the notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. After Vice President JD Vance and chief of staff Susie Wiles urged the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to make peace, Musk deleted several of his posts, including the one about Epstein, and called Trump to apologize. He then posted a public retraction, saying he "regrets some" of the barbs he hurled because "they went too far." Trump, who had threatened to cut "billions and billions" in federal subsidies and contracts with Musk's companies, was magnanimous, if aloof. He said he "thought it was very nice" that Musk posted a retraction. The spat began when Musk criticized Trump's "big, beautiful" spending bill, which independent analysts say would add trillions to the deficit, as a "disgusting abomination." Then it grew personal as he accused the president of "ingratitude," saying Trump would have lost last year's election without his support. Musk even suggested he might found a new political party. Tesla stock promptly lost a record $152 billion, although it began to recover when Musk ended his rant.

Several Republicans expressed dismay about the rift—"I feel like the kids of a bitter divorce," said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz—but most were clear that their allegiance lay with Trump. "Do not doubt, do not second-guess, and don't ever challenge the president," said House Speaker Mike Johnson. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon called for an investigation into Musk's immigration status, alleged drug use, and ties to China.

What the columnists said

This was a display of Trump's dominance, said Jonathan V. Last in The Bulwark. "Elon Musk submitted and presented his soft, pink belly." Musk may be the world's richest man, but when the president threatened his businesses, nobody stood by him, not even his "tech oligarch" pals. The message has gone out to everyone who thought their wealth earned them influence—and to everyone who thought we lived in a liberal society. "Money has ceased to be power. Only power is power."

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It had to end, said Jonathan Lemire in The Atlantic. The two men were "inseparable" during the campaign, and while Musk was helming DOGE, he frequently stayed over at the White House. But the relationship between the president and "the mercurial tech baron" had been souring for weeks. Musk was upset that Trump had canceled EV subsidies and nixed his handpicked choice to lead NASA, and he got into a shouting match with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over who should lead the IRS. Trump, for his part, was annoyed with Musk for criticizing his tariff policy and disappointed that DOGE's cuts didn't save much money. He began "quietly telling confidants" he was done with Musk, whom he considered a "big-time drug addict."

Musk clearly had the "belated realization that the returns from his alliance were heavily asymmetric," said Gerard Baker in The Wall Street Journal. His reward for dropping some $300 million on Trump's campaign was "lost value for Tesla" and significant damage to his own reputation. There might be no better example of "Trump's facility for one-sided dealmaking." Trump even threatened Musk with "serious consequences" should the tech mogul donate to Democrats.

That threat was breathtaking in its sheer brazenness, said Peter Baker in The New York Times. In signaling he would cancel federal contracts to punish Musk, Trump "effectively acknowledged" that he uses the government "as his personal instrument for dispensing favors to friends and penalizing those who cross him." In any previous administration, such a statement would have sparked a corruption investigation, but for Trump, it was "just another Thursday." He's willing to use all the power of the presidency against anyone he considers an enemy.

So ends the "breakup episode" of what was always "essentially a reality show," said Nick Catoggio in The Dispatch. Sure, it was fun watching "two detestable sociopaths wound each other" in real time over social media. But it only underscores how unserious our government is, with its Congress of toadies and its spending bill that will explode the debt. "America has become a tremendously embarrassing freak show whose political culture should make any dignified person want to renounce their citizenship."