The Blubber

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he was “very surprised” and “disappointed” by Elon Musk’s sharp criticism of his flagship budget legislation, marking the most direct clash yet between the former allies.

“Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump told reporters at the White House, expressing frustration with Musk’s opposition to the sweeping plan to slash government spending and taxes—a proposal that has drawn pushback not only from Musk but also some within the Republican Party.

Musk, in response, fired back on X, accusing Trump of “ingratitude” and claiming, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election.”

The tech billionaire recently stepped down from his short-lived position at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after just 129 days. At a ceremony on May 30, Trump had presented Musk with a golden key in a show of appreciation. But since then, Musk has repeatedly attacked the budget package making its way through Congress, labeling it a “disgusting abomination” and publicly shaming those who supported it: “Shame on those who voted for it—you know you did wrong.”

The legislation passed the House with broad Republican support, while all Democrats and a few GOP dissenters voted against it.

During a joint press conference Thursday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump defended the bill, saying, “We are doing things in that bill that are unbelievable.” He added, “I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here. All of a sudden he had a problem.”

“He hasn’t said bad things about me personally,” Trump noted, “but I’m sure that’ll be next.”

The president suggested that Musk’s criticism stemmed from the removal of EV subsidies that could hurt Tesla. Musk denied that, writing: “Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill—even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!)—but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.”

In U.S. political slang, “pork” refers to wasteful or politically motivated government spending.

Musk had endorsed Trump last July following the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and reportedly contributed $250 million toward helping Trump’s return to the White House.

After Trump’s remarks Thursday, Musk unleashed a series of posts on X denying he had seen the full text of the bill, while resurfacing old Trump posts promoting a balanced budget.

He doubled down on his political influence, writing: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House, and the Republicans would be 51–49 in the Senate.”