The Blubber

Donald Trump has issued a sharp warning to Elon Musk, cautioning the billionaire entrepreneur that he could face “very serious consequences” if he chooses to back Democratic candidates in future elections.

Speaking in an interview with NBC News set to air Sunday, the former president escalated his public feud with Musk, which erupted earlier this week after the Tesla CEO criticized the GOP’s flagship budget legislation, labeling it an “abomination.”

Asked about the fallout, Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker that his relationship with Musk—once a key donor to his re-election effort—was effectively finished, and he made clear any financial backing of Democrats would come at a cost.

“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump warned. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.”

Pressed on whether he was open to repairing their relationship, Trump was blunt: “No.” When asked if he believed the fallout was final, he added, “I would assume so, yeah. I have no intention of speaking to him. I’m too busy doing other things.”

Despite the split, Trump claimed the spat had only served to rally Republicans behind him. “The party has never been united like this before,” he said. “It’s actually more so than it was three days ago.”

Musk’s vocal opposition to the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—the GOP’s sweeping budget and tax legislation—has not, Trump insisted, weakened its prospects. The bill, which narrowly passed the House, is now being debated in the Senate, where some conservatives have echoed Musk’s concerns over the scale of spending cuts.

The legislation seeks to extend Trump-era tax cuts while boosting funding for the military and border security. Republicans propose offsetting costs by cutting programs like Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and clean energy tax credits.

Analysts, including the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, project the bill could add $2.3 trillion to $5 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade. White House officials argue that the economic growth spurred by tax reductions will counterbalance the additional spending.

Still, Trump projected confidence. “I’m very confident it’ll pass the Senate before July Fourth,” he said.

He also suggested Musk’s criticism had inadvertently drawn more attention to the bill’s strengths. “People that weren’t as focused started focusing on it, and they see how good it is,” Trump said. “So in that sense, there was a big favor. But I think Elon, really, I think it’s a shame that he’s so depressed and so heartbroken.”

Trump also accused Musk of being “very disrespectful to the office of the president,” a remark that followed Musk’s now-deleted post on X that attempted to link Trump to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“You could not disrespect the office of the president,” Trump said. “I think it’s a very bad thing.”